For you it's just a memory
by me.fergie
Summary: Sequel to 'He still stands inspite of what his scars say'. Set somewhere in Season 6, so there'll be spoilers for previous seasons. The team finds out about Ryan's family situation after his uncle Ron gets into huge trouble. Rated M to be safe. COMPLETE
1. Prologue

AN: As some people wanted a sequel to 'He still stands inspite of what his scars say', I decided to just give it a try. How far it goes depends on how many people will read and review, as usual. I strongly recommend you have read 'He still stands inspite of what his scars say' to understand this one, although I give a little summary in the prologue. I apologize beforehand for any weird sentences, I'm not a native speaker of English. Ok, that's it. Please read, enjoy and then of course review :)

The quote at the beginning is taken from Episode 3.12 'Shootout'. The title of the fic and the prologue is from Christina Aguilera's song "I'm okay".

For you it's just a memory but for me it still lives on

Prologue: Once upon a time….

"_Still, I feel bad for that kid. Such an uncaring family_…" "_It's more common then we'd like to admit though, isn't it_?"

In all those years Ryan Wolfe had been a CSI at the Miami Dade Crime Lab and worked with Horatio Caine, this simple sentence had burned itself into his memory. He had seen a lot, he had heard a lot; he had almost been killed, had failed to kill, had been jaded and hated, fired and reinstated… But among all those events, the moment he had shared with Horatio a few months after he'd started working there had had a deeper impact on his memory than anything else. He remembered every single detail of the day Horatio had said this to him. It had been the first case he'd worked alone. And though his initial suspicion, that the baby, _that kid_, had been abused by its 'mother' (who later on admitted that she was not the mother, but the nanny) had been wrong, he still had helped the child. He had brought little Bethany back to her real mother, but after he had seen what sort of mother she was, had called Horatio, who had send Child Services over to the family. He had never heard anything from them again. And now, four years later, he still remembered the case. Mainly because of what Horatio had said. Uncaring families are more common then we like to admit… Ryan knew it. He probably knew it better than most of the people around the lab, except for maybe Horatio. Horatio's childhood was sort of an open secret in the lab. Everybody knew a bit, but no one knew the whole truth. Except for Rick Stetler, maybe. And while everybody knew something about Horatio, no one knew anything about Ryan Wolfe….

Ryan Wolfe had been disowned at the age of sixteen. At this precise age he had chosen to become a cop, a CSI. Not a soldier, like his father had wanted him to be. It had taken Ryan a long time to figure out that he didn't want it, but once he had decided to become a CSI, it had taken him only a few minutes to tell his father. The consequences had been terrible: Duke Wolfe had first beaten the crap out of Ryan and then thrown him out. Luckily for Ryan, his uncle and closest friend Ron had taken care of him. And Ryan had fought and made his way to the Miami Dade Crime Lab. He had made his mistakes and screwed up sometimes, but he had never given up. If he had learned one thing in his short but hard life, it was to never give up….


	2. Chapter 1

AN: New Chapter already today... WOW :)

Oh, and I forgot the disclaimer in my prologue: I don't own CSI Miami or its characters. I do own Deborah, uncle Ron as portrayed here, as well as Ann Evans, who will be in this chapter.

Chapter One

Ryan opened the door to his apartment. He got in, closed the door again and threw his keys on the nearest desk. Finally at home. He loved this job, but since he had gotten back on the team, he felt the tension between him and the rest of them. They still didn't trust him. Except for Alexx. She did. But the others… Well, things between him and Delko had never been easy, and he had done his part in screwing it up with Natalia. It was the thing with Calleigh that bothered him the most. He knew things between them two would never be like they were. He had always felt that she was, next to Alexx, the only one in the team that respected him, yeah even liked him. But well… It was his fault. At least here at home, he could shut down from it a bit. He went to the living room. The light on his answering machine was on. He pushed the button:

"Hey, Ryan, it's Ron. Just wanted to remind you of tonight. Bye bye."

Ryan grinned. After all those years, Ron still hadn't managed to leave decent messages on answering machines. It was Ron's fiftieth birthday, and he was throwing a huge party at his penthouse tonight. No chance Ryan would forget this. He had four hours left until he had to go. Time enough for a shower and a quick bite. He walked over to the bathroom, where he took his clothes off and went into the shower. He showered for half an hour. Not that he felt the urge to do so. Since he had gotten OCD therapy, sponsored by Uncle Ron, he didn't feel that anymore. Okay, he still wanted everything neat and clean, and he still felt a bit of horror when he thought about not cleaning his gun like two times a week. But he could deal with it. He only showered that long because he loved the feeling of warm water. He had loved it since his early childhood. It reminded him of the times when he had spent his holidays with Ron in Miami, when the two were on the beach. He turned the water off and got out of the shower, his hand reaching for the towel that lay on the chair next to the door. He rubbed his hair and body dry and then he looked into the mirror. He liked what he saw. Well, like might be a bit over the top, but he could live with what he saw: fuzzy brown hair, hazel eyes… the little scar next to the right eye where the nail had hit him. It didn't distract very much from his looks. Only somebody who would look right into his eyes would notice it. He shrugged. Then he took a closer look at his body. He remembered when, years ago, he had complained about being too lanky. Well, the lankiness had gone completely. During the last years, he had managed to grow some muscles. He still looked rather slim when he was standing next to Frank Tripp, but at least next to Delko he didn't look like a twelve year old anymore. He sighed a bit, pondering about doing it or not, but then he turned around and looked over his shoulder into the mirror. He could see his back now. It was covered in scars. He had counted them years ago. He didn't remember the exact number, but he knew it was a lot. Somewhere around fifty. They were criss-crossing his back. It looked… He didn't know. In his pre CSI life, he would have said "disgusting". But after having seen so many mutilated corpses, he would never say such a thing anymore. It felt like an insult to those that had suffered so much more than him. He had suffered for a week or two, until the pain had gone. But then it had been okay. Well, physically. But he still had a hard time undressing in front of other people. Whenever he was at the gym with Delko or earlier on with Cooper, he had done his best to not let them see his back. Even Ron had never seen his back, not even right after the beating. It wasn't that he was ashamed of it. He knew he didn't have too. It was what he always told victims of abuse, that it was never ever the victims fault. He had understood that long ago in therapy. What he feared most was that he had to explain. And that was something he still couldn't. It always brought back the pain and the fear and the feeling of… well, just not being good enough. He had talked to Ron, sometimes, reluctantly. But he could not imagine talking to the team about it, not even to Alexx, who was sort of a second mother to him. It scared the hell out of him to even think about talking to anybody. Because it still hurt. After all those years, it still hurt to think about his family. Okay, he had never regretted his choice. It was actually the best choice he had ever made. But sometimes, like, after he had been fired, a little voice in his head asked him, if it had really been worth it. Most of the time Ryan knew it had. But when he was alone, he sometimes wished he could pluck up the courage and go just home and talk to his father. But he knew one thing: the fact that he was now grown up and cop and stronger than he used to be wouldn't stop Duke from doing _it_ again. And Ryan knew that he still couldn't defend himself against his own father when it came to it. He looked at his back a last time, sighed and put a shirt on. No need to think more about it. He would never see his father again.

--

Later that evening, he parked his car in front of the building where Ron had his penthouse. When he got to the penthouse, the normally huge space was crowded with people. Ryan, through and through a cop, wondered how many of those guys actually were friends and "workmates" of his safecracking uncle, and how many of them were just potential victims Ron had met along the road and wanted to check out. He decided not to think anymore of it; he was a cop, his uncle a criminal. If he thought too much about this simple fact, it would make his life too complicated. He walked over to Ron, who was sitting on his piano, a young girl in his arm. Ryan immediately sensed something was wrong about the girl. He had seen his uncle's former girlfriends. They were always about 20 something years old, blond, slim, with big boobs… well, somewhat California beauties. This one wasn't. She was tall, taller than Ron, and normally he couldn't stand that. And she was brunette. And surely already close to her thirties. Must have been the first brunette and the oldest girlfriend Ron had ever had. Maybe this was why it looked so wrong to Ryan. He went over to them:

"Hey Ron. Happy birthday."

Ron smiled, "Thank you very much, Ryan. Ann, let me introduce you. This is Ryan Wolfe, my nephew. The best kid on earth. Ryan, this is my girlfriend, Ann Evans." Ann shook Ryan's hand. Her handshake was strong. Again, major difference to Ron's other girlfriends. Something was wrong here…. But Ryan didn't have the time to think about it any further. Suddenly, a young child came running towards him:

"Uncle Ryan!!"

Ryan smiled and kneeled down, just in time before the girl had arrived and threw her arms around his neck, "Hey, my little angel. How you're doing?" It was his niece, Kathy.

"I'm fine."

"Where's your mommy?" He looked up and scanned the room. There she was. Deborah, his younger sister. She hadn't changed a bit. He hadn't really seen her a lot these past years. She visited Ron sometimes, and sometimes, when Ryan knew she was there, he went over to see her. And Kathy. He had loved the child from the beginning on. He always bought her something for her birthday, even if Deborah and she weren't around, and then gave it to Ron so that he could give it to Kathy once he saw them. He got up, with Kathy on his arm, and went over to Deborah. She smiled at him, but it was an awkward smile:

"Hello, Ryan."

"Hey, Deb."

"How are you?"

"Okay. You?"

"Fine…" Silence. Ryan hated that silence. After he had been thrown out, at the rare occasions he had met Deborah, he never had managed to have a normal conversation with her. There were just so many things between them. After all, they never had the best of relationships, even when they were children. Okay, he had helped her, back when she was eleven. It would have been a good start for a normal brother-sister relationship. But it had turned out different and Ryan and Deborah had never managed to become close. Ryan sighed a bit and then asked, "How are mom and dad?"

Deborah answered, "Mom is alright. Though, she still misses you. You should call her some time, you know. What happened between you and dad is one thing, but it isn't mom's fault."

"I know. But I can't." He paused, "How is dad, then?"

"Well, he's still very active. He and Steve hang around a lot, to discuss new recruits and training methods." Steve was Deborah's husband or, as Ron had once called it, 'the perfect son-in-law for my idiot brother'. He had made career in the army already at a very young age, and of course, Duke had been more than thrilled that his daughter had chosen such a good man. He was recruiter in Boston, and apparently one of the best they'd ever had. And of course, he couldn't stand Ryan. Not that Ryan would care, anyways.

"Well, I guess at least I don't have to worry about having ruined family tradition anymore," he said.

"No, you don't. Though I seriously think you should…" Ryan never found out what Deborah thought, because in that exact moment, she tripped forward and dropped her champagne glass. Furiously, she turned around:

"Watch out where you're walking, in God's ..." Apparently, Ann had accidently shoved her when she was heading for the toilet. But before Deborah had finished her sentence, Ann had already caught the glass before it hit the floor. Not even a drop of champagne was spilled. She handed Deborah the glass, smiling a bit and then left for the toilet.

Ryan frowned, "That was impressive… Speaking about a fast reaction…"

"I can't stand her. She's only after Ron's money, like all the others…" Ryan only nodded. He didn't know why, but he felt Deborah was wrong.


	3. Chapter 2

AN: Am I not nice. A new chapter again... This is probably due to the fact that I'm gonna have a bad conscience, because I'm busy with university, which means I cannot update as regularly as I want to, so as soon as I have something I give it to you guys. Hope you like it... Don't own anything but Ann.

Chapter 2

The next months in Miami were quiet. Horatio was all busy keeping his son out of trouble, while Delko tried his best to not let the whole lab know he was into Calleigh. Ryan had enough time to concentrate on his cases without having to deal too much with his co-workers personal stuff. They didn't share it with him anyways. What once had been sort of a friendship had turned into a purely professional work relationship. He was a bit sad about it, but he knew it would take time until they would trust him again. This was why he didn't ask Delko to go to the gym again, but just went alone. After all, he liked being alone there, so it was okay.

--

One evening when he went to the locker room, he passed by the Hip Hop Dance class. He recognized her immediately. His uncle's girlfriend, Ann. She was dancing in the second row. And how she danced! Looking at this, Ryan could understand what his uncle liked about her. She might not be the youngest, or the blondest, or the one with the biggest boobs, but damn- she was flexi. He grinned a bit; at least, Ron knew what was good. Ryan went over to the gym room and started his work-out. After two hours intensive self-torture, he left again. The Hip Hop Dance class was over too. Ann was standing on the floor, talking into her cell phone. Ryan didn't know why, but he felt she looked worried. She was chewing her nails, gave only short answers and ran in little circles. Finally she hung up and ran her fingers through her hair. In that exact moment, she noticed Ryan. She looked at him for a second and then she motioned him to go to the locker room. Ryan frowned but did as he was told. He was only a few seconds in when she entered too.

"You're Ryan, right?"

"Yes. And you are Ann. And this is the guys' locker room…"

She looked around, "Oh, yeah, right…" She giggled, "I'm so confused sometimes… I saw you and just thought 'Oh, I know him', and forgot all the rest." She giggled again, "Sorry…" She left. Ryan shook his head and started undressing when he noticed something; she had forgotten her cell phone. It was lying on the bench she had leaned against. Ryan sighed; she was, without a doubt, not Ron's most intelligent girlfriend… He walked over to the bench and picked the phone up. He looked at the display- and froze. He was in the 'write message' menu. And there was already a text message written, saying:

"_Ryan, Ron has been kidnapped. They told me to not call the cops, but I'm worried. Meet me at the bar on the corner. Ann."_

Ryan had to sit down. Ron, kidnapped? Oh no, this couldn't be happening… It happened to other people, frequently. Like everybody related to Horatio in some way. But not to Ron… He read the text again. Damn! Luckily, Ann wasn't one of those people that actually didn't call the cops….

--

He arrived at the bar after a quick shower. Ann was sitting at the counter, a glass of vodka before her. Ryan sat down next to her and ordered a soda.

"Don't you think we should go anywhere… more private?"

But she shook her head, "No. Nobody will listen to us here."

Ryan shrugged, "Well, being Ron's girlfriend, you should know… You do know what he does for a living, right?"

She grinned, "Oh yeah, I do… But I gotta be honest to you. Ron wanted to tell you on the party, but he didn't find the right moment… I'm not Ron's girlfriend. I'm his… I work with him. Let's call it like this."

Ryan had to smile, "I knew it. You were so different from his other girlfriends… I knew something was wrong; I just couldn't put my finger on it… How did you meet?"

"At work… It is so cliché, but he actually climbed into the same house as I did. He wanted to crack the safe; I wanted to steal a painting. The painting was in the safe, funny enough. So we decided to pair up. He opened the safe, robbed the money, I got my painting, and he closed the safe again. It took the owner more than a week until he found out. A month later, Ron showed up at the gym; it was a coincidence. He watched my training and then asked me if I wouldn't like to be his partner. Said that he had more and more trouble to get through windows, old as he is. So I should climb the windows, open the front door, he would get in, open the safe and we'd share. And I can tell you, your uncle is a fine gentleman. He actually gave me 60 of it because I was doing the more dangerous part. So, this is how we met."

Ryan took a sip of his soda, "Why the girlfriend story?"

"It was the easiest way to get me to that party. There were only the richest people from town. If I had shown up there all alone, they would have noticed something, see that I'm not known in the right circles. Like this, no one questioned my presence. I was just the next in a row of silly-but-good-in-bed girlfriends."

"Leave it to Ron to plan something carefully through… So, what happened now? How did you find out what happened?"

"They called me. Ron disappeared a week ago. I didn't wonder, because he does that often. He visits family in Boston and stuff. And he rarely tells me. So, when I called last week, and he didn't answer, I just thought he had done it again. I went to water his plants and stuff. Anyways. When I was at the gym today, I got that call. Some guy saying he had kidnapped Ron. Apparently, he wanted Ron to open a safe in some scientist's lab, I don't remember the name exactly, but he said something about one of the most important scientists in the world. Ron refused to crack the safe. Now the guy told me, if I wouldn't do it he would kill Ron and send me his heart. And that I shouldn't call the cops… Ryan, look, I know you don't know me enough to trust me, but I really do care for your uncle, he's an amazing person, and I don't want him to be killed…"

Ryan nodded, "I know. Listen, the scientist's name… Kaufman? Hans Kaufman?"

"Yeah, right. You know him?"

"I do… This is worse than I thought. The guy's been under witness protection, this is probably why they didn't kidnap him… God knows how they found out where he is… Listen, the guy has always been developing nerve toxins, and one of my colleagues who has a good relation with the Feds has told me that he was working on a new one, apparently more powerful than any other before. That's what they want. They're not kidnappers, they're terrorists… Okay, listen, this is important. Under no circumstances, do what they want. Don't make any deals with them…"

"What about Ron?"

"I'm going to take care of this. Now, think: Was there anything special about the voice on the phone? Anything distinctive, like a foreign accent, or did he stutter, or used any un-American words? Anything?"

Ann closed her eyes, "He spoke with a French accent. His voice was dark, like he had one to many cigarettes. Or whiskey. But nothing else. I'm sorry." But then her eyes went big, "And he knew I wasn't Ron's girlfriend. He knew I worked with him. But he thought I cracked safes too, which isn't true."

Ryan froze, "You sure nobody knows about that? Besides Ron and me?"

"Absolutely."

Ryan swallowed, "It means Ron must have told them… and he would never… Oh God…." He buried his face in his hands. Oh God, what did those bastards do to his uncle? He felt Ann's hand on his shoulder.

"You and Ron are close, right?"

"He's more than a father to me…"

"What are you gonna do?"

Ryan thought about it. Then he raised his head again. "I'm going to tell my boss."

"But, they're gonna…"

"I know. But… I am a cop. I have to protect the people of Miami. No one knows what they're gonna do once they have that toxin. It could be strong enough to kill all the people of Miami. And I have to think of that. I have to talk to Horatio. He'll know what to do, who to call, how to react, etc… Even if it means I'm losing the only person that has ever cared for me…" His voice broke. This couldn't be true. This had to be a nightmare. But he saw the tears in Ann's eyes and knew it was real. But he had made his decision. And he knew Ron would agree with it. Reluctantly, but he would. Not that it made things any easier for Ryan. "Just… when they call you next time… ask to talk to Ron. So that we know he's still alive…"

"Of course…" She took a sip of her vodka, "But, why do they think I'm a safe cracker?"

"I guess Ron didn't tell them enough, so that they made their own conclusions about that. Or… He told them because he wants you to tell me. Because I'm the only one he knows that can crack safes. Maybe it was a hint. But I don't think so. It would imply you know about that."

She grinned, "I did. He tried to teach me how to open a safe, but I really sucked at it, so he told me if even a cop can learn it it shouldn't be that difficult… You really know how to crack a safe?"

Ryan smiled, "Yeah. Ron taught me when I was 11. He was pretty wasted that evening… But it has already helped me at the job…" He drank the rest of the soda and then got up, "Okay. I'm gonna call my boss now… Listen, there's one more thing. I need to be honest with H. That means, I gotta tell him about Ron's job, and about your role in it. I cannot guarantee you that you'll get out of this without…"

But she cut him off, "I seriously don't care, Ryan. The only thing that matters to me is… well, that nothing bad happens. And that maybe we get Ron back alive. If this means I'm gonna face trial and stuff, be it like that."

Ryan smiled a bit, "You know, right now I wish you were my uncle's girlfriend. Because you're by far the best that could have happened to him."

Ann returned the smile, "Funny. He said the same thing about you…"


	4. Chapter 3

Sorry for the long wait, but, university, gym and work are keeping me busy as hell.... Anyways, here's the new chapter. Please, do review. Special thanks go to my lovely Beta Compleatly Random Disorder, who is a wonderful writer herself, so check out her stories. Hint hint. And i don't own anything besides Ann Evans. Enjoy.

Chapter 3

Horatio was still at the Headquarters when Ryan called him. He could sense from the tension in his youngest CSI's voice that whatever he had to say was important, so he immediately received both Ryan and Ann in his little office.

"Mr. Wolfe… You sounded quite worried on the telephone. May I ask you what worries you?"

Ryan bit his lip. This was the moment where he was officially putting his uncle's life on the line. And it was not easy. He sighed and said, "Horatio, we have a situation. My uncle has been kidnapped. Ron Wolfe. The kidnappers want him to open the safe of Hans Kaufman, the scientist. They probably want the newest nerve toxin he has developed. My uncle has refused to do so, and now the have called his co-worker, Ann Evans, and threatened her they would kill Ron if she refuses too."

Horatio nodded, "I see… And I guess you're Miss Ann Evans." Ann nodded. "So, as I see things… you're a safecracker too?"

"Actually I'm not… But they don't know. They think I am… I'm climbing windows…"

"I see… Okay, here's what we gonna do. Mr Wolfe, you and Miss Evans are coming with us. I call Eric and Calleigh. We're going to take a look at your uncle's apartment, see if we find anything that could tell us where they have brought your uncle. If not, I have to report it to my superiors. They will know what to do."

--

Calleigh, Eric, Ryan Ann and Horatio entered Ron's apartment half an hour later. Everything looked like Ryan was used to. There were no signs of a struggle, neither of forced entry. But Ann had already told them that. Ryan frowned:

"You say you came over to water the plants, right?"

"Yes."

"I know he doesn't keep plants in his bedroom… Have you been there?"

Ann frowned, "Now that you mention it, no I haven't."

Horatio immediately went over and opened the door to the bedroom. And there he found what they had been looking for. The bedroom was chaos. Not the usual Ron Wolfe chaos, but it looked like a bomb had exploded. Ryan closed his eyes as he saw it. Until now, he still had hoped that somebody was just making really bad jokes, but now, he knew it was the truth. Horatio waved Eric to come before he turned to Ryan and Ann:

"I want you two to stay outside of this room. You just look, and then you tell me what you see. Has anything been taken away? Or is anything here that doesn't belong to Mr Wolfe and that could be from our kidnappers? I need you to focus and concentrate."

Ryan looked around as did Ann. Ryan had lived for six years with Ron, not to mention the several nights he had spend here when he already had his own place. If anything was odd, he would notice it. His eyes scanned the room. The lamp on the bedside was broken; there was blood on it. Probably the kidnappers had used the lamp to knock Ron out. Delko was already bagging it. His eyes wandered over the bed. The sheets were in a mess. They probably had come in at night, when Ron was already sleeping. But it could also be that Ron just didn't straighten them. The wardrobe was open; clothes were lying on the floor. They had been looking for something, probably Ron's tools. Ryan almost had to laugh. As if Ron would need tools to open the safe. He looked more closely at the wardrobe. The shoe-boxes had also been pulled out, their contents lying on the floor. Ron had kept his shoes in the boxes, as well as his… well, toys… his belts, his song notebooks and his collection of empty cigarette boxes from all over the world. That was something he had copied from Ryan. Keep little things stored in empty shoeboxes. Ryan did that, too. Spare shoelaces, ties, old notebooks from his time as a patrol… Everything that just occupied too much space otherwise was kept in shoeboxes. Now, everything was spread out on the floor. And then Ryan saw it. To anybody else, it would look perfectly normal; nobody would guess it didn't belong here. But Ryan noticed it. Because he _knew_ it didn't belong there. Because he also knew where it belonged. And because he owed the most painful hours in his life to it... He swallowed:

"Horatio?"

"Ryan?"

"The belt there…. the leather belt… the dark one. It's not my uncle's…"

Horatio walked over to it and took a closer look, "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, sir. 100%."

"It might be from our kidnapper then…"

Ryan didn't answer. He knew, once Valera, or Natalia, had been over the belt, had collected DNA from it, they would know that it wasn't the kidnapper's. Or could it be? After all, it could still be a coincidence. Maybe the belt actually was the kidnapper's. Maybe, after all those years, Ryan's eyes were playing tricks on him. Maybe it only looked like… the belt. His father's belt surely wasn't a unicum. But then again… How probable was that? Oh lord, no… It would mean…He shook his head. No, that was not possible. That just wasn't possible. It had to be another belt. Anything else would mean that his father was involved in the kidnapping, and that just wasn't possible. Period. His father was a good man, a soldier, one of those that people trusted with their lives. He would never ever do such a thing. He watched Delko bagging the belt. In was in that moment that it hit him; if this _was_ his father's belt, they would also find his DNA on it, if they only looked hard enough. And they would ask him about it…. And even if they didn't, they would ask his father to come over and make a statement. And he would tell them. Either way… they would ask him. They would ask him how his blood had ended up on that belt. And he had to tell them. Horatio, Eric, Calleigh, Natalia… everybody would know. Everybody involved on that case would hear what he had to say, why he never talked about his family, why the only person at his bedside in hospital had been Alexx. Alexx… She would find out too. And she would probably go all uber-mother on him. Oh no, if there was anything he couldn't stand it was pity… He shook his head. It was too early. He had to concentrate on what was here now. Not on something that would happen over the next days. His looks scanned the room again. But nothing else was odd. Ann came to the same conclusion:

"It's nothing different. Besides of the belt and the lamp."

Horatio nodded, "Thank you very much, Miss Evans. Ryan, can you guide her downstairs to the patrol car; the officer will bring her home. And I suggest you go home too. If you can think of anything that could be important, you both call me…"

--

Ryan guided Ann to the car. But he didn't go home, as Horatio had told him but went back to HQ. He knew time was short, and he didn't want to waste any of it by staying at home. If they discovered whose belt it was, if it truly was his, it would be better that he was already there, and that they didn't have to wait for him to drive over. Horatio noticed it, but he didn't say anything. Ryan had watched the belt being brought over to DNA lab half an hour ago. Luckily, it was Valera who processed it. Not that he didn't trust Natalia, but he preferred Valera. He wasn't as close to her as to Natalia. And if Natalia found out, she would know why he had behaved the way he did when they were in bed on that one date. Why he had kept the shirt on. She had asked him to take it off, he had refused. He knew it would only be a One-Night-Stand, so he didn't want her to see his back. It would have been different if he felt it could be a long term thing. But well… With Valera, things were different. She was a co-worker he liked and respected, but nothing more. It was bad enough she would find out. But since everybody would… He shrugged. It didn't make sense to think about it. There still was a possibility that he was just mistaken. But when he heard the beep announcing that they had a DNA match, when he saw Valera looking at the screen, freezing, and then turning her head towards him, with that look of 'what the fuck?' in her eyes, he knew that it was just like he had feared. He turned around and went to the interrogation room. Horatio would be there in a minute…

--

Horatio sat down in front of him, "Mr Wolfe… I don't know how I should start this… Miss Valera found DNA on the belt from your uncle's apartment. Two of them are in CODIS. The third we couldn't match…"

"That would probably be my uncle's…"

"We thought so. It was a partial match to the other two… One of them was yours. The other one we found in our military database. Duke Wolfe."

"My father." Ryan swallowed. Valera had been thoroughly.

"Ryan… We found ephitelials from your father and uncle, we found your blood. You know we have to bring your father in for questioning; he might be in this. And you know I cannot have you work on this case. Nevertheless… I want to hear what you have to say. And I want the truth. You and I have been here before. The last time you lied to me. Don't do it this time."

Ryan had to grin, "This is about my uncle. Not about me. I wouldn't put his life in danger to save… let's call it my dignity. I'm gonna be honest with you."

Horatio put his sunglasses on the table, "Then feel free to start…"


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ryan's eyes didn't meet Horatio's once while he was telling his story, "You know I was born in Boston. My father, Duke Wolfe, is a soldier. The third one in the family. It's a tradition. It's always the oldest son that signs up. So, it would have been my turn. My father made pretty damn sure that I was strong enough to sign up when the day came. He started training me when I was barely old enough to walk. I don't remember a lot from the first ten years of my life, just some random moments. When I was 16, I decided that I don't wanna be a soldier. Some things happened before that decision and they made me choose to become a cop and criminalist. I told my father. The result is what you have discovered on that belt... He beat me up and threw me out. I grew up with my uncle."

"How did your uncle get the belt?"

"I have no idea. The last time I've seen the belt was when I had to clean it."

Horatio watched his youngest CSI. He had always known Ryan as an eager, young and, overall, very emotional person. He had let his emotions interfere with his job already too often. From shoving people to almost beat them up, Ryan had gone through every state of negative emotional behaviour. But Horatio also knew the other side. The side that had pushed Ryan to take over a case others wouldn't even have noticed. Like with Bethany, the young toddler. No one had noticed something was wrong; Ryan had. Because he cared. Horatio had guessed something had gone awfully wrong in Ryan's past just by the way Ryan acted sometimes. The absolute will to succeed, the urge to not bother any other people when he had problems, the way he took orders from superiors without objecting, no matter how things turned out for him. He was used to obey. And now Horatio knew why. But what bugged him the most was the way Ryan was talking about this now. No pauses, no thinking, just reporting. Coldly.

"Why did you never reported it?"

"I have a mother and a sister. When I was thrown out, my sister was eleven years old. I didn't want to take her father away from her. And my mother loved him with all her heart. I didn't want to ruin my family. I had my uncle, and he cared for me like I was his own son."

"Have you seen your father again?"

"No. He told me the day he would see me again, he… I wouldn't be able to walk on my own two feet anymore. I guess now the time has come to fulfil his promise."

"Times have changed, Ryan. You're equal. And he won't lay a hand on you. That much I promise to you."

Ryan chuckled, "Thanks. But I don't want you or anybody on the team to stand up for me. If I have to face him, it'll be me alone. And I would be glad if you didn't tell him I told you. It's over."

"I see… but you know I'm gonna have to tell the team."

"I do."

"But you can also tell them, if you want."

"I don't. This is part of a case I'm not on. I don't want this to turn into some 'Ryan Wolfe and his bad childhood' theatre play with me as the protagonist. And I surely don't want to be looked at with the CSI look." He got up, "I would appreciate if you told me when my father is around… I haven't seen him for over ten years… I just want to know what he looks like, now…"

"Of course, Mr Wolfe."

--

Horatio kept his promise. He gathered Eric, Calleigh, and, just because he had to, Stetler. And in a moment of silence, down at the morgue, he told Alexx. He didn't know why he chose to speak to Alexx alone. Mainly because when talking to Alexx, he could not only tell her the story, but also the way Ryan had told him. He knew that Alexx would understand, and she would know how to react. Not that Horatio didn't. Having been through a tough childhood himself, he knew what Ryan needed and what he didn't want at all. And he knew that the warm support Alexx would give him would help.

The team's reaction had been like he'd expected. Calleigh was sort of shocked. Eric's reaction surprised him, tough. Given the tension between him and Ryan, Horatio didn't expect him to say 'I cannot believe I never noticed. I thought he was just an ambitious dork, but I'd never thought somebody beat that into him'. Stetler, of course, didn't think very much of the whole thing. He had always known Ryan as a troublemaker, and if he was honest, although he couldn't stand the entire team, Ryan was probably the one he resented most, next to Horatio.

"Horatio, I know you want to protect him, but if his father is in that kidnapping…"

"I know, Rick…"

"We can keep him here for as long as we need if Ryan will press charges against him."

"He won't, Rick."

"Horatio. If this man is an accomplice to the terror organisation that wants this nerve toxin, we need to keep him here. And especially if we can prove it…

"Rick, here's what we gonna do. You leave my CSI alone. I don't think he will press charges, even if he could. I don't want you anywhere near Ryan, you understand me?"

"Horatio…"

"My last word." Horatio turned around and left the room.

--

The conversation with Alexx was longer and way more emotional. He knocked at the door of the morgue. Alexx was just finishing her autopsy on a murder victim. Old woman, robbed and killed in her home. Horatio was reluctant, but right now, this victim wasn't top priority.

"Alexx, you got a minute for me?"

Alexx raised her head, "Sure, Horatio. Margret Smith won't go anywhere. What can I do for you?"

"It's about Ryan."

"He hasn't gambled again?"

"No… His uncle has been kidnapped. When we searched the flat, we found a belt. It had Ryan's blood on it. And epithelials from Ryan's uncle and his father…" He didn't continue. He didn't have to. He could see in Alexx's eyes that she had understood.

"He loves his uncle. What did his father do to him?"

"Apparently… apparently he wasn't too satisfied with Ryan's career choice. He wanted his son to continue family tradition and sign up for military. Ryan chose a different path, and apparently had to pay a high price for it… His father threw him out after severely beating him up... Now, I know what happened in that situation.... But only God knows what Ryan has been through before that day..."

Alexx's eyes showed the sadness about what she had just learned, "I always wondered why he is the way he is. I knew something must have happened to him, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Horatio…"

"I know, Alexx. We have to be careful what we do now. I have to bring Ryan's father in for questioning. And I want you to have an eye on how Ryan deals with the situation. You know him more than anyone else on the team."

"And still not enough for him to tell me about it… But I will take care of him if he needs me…. And in the meantime, you try and get his uncle back. I don't want the only person that has ever cared for him to die…"

"Neither do I, Alexx…." Horatio turned around and left the morgue. Outside, he dialled a number on his cell phone, "Mr Wolfe? This is Horatio Caine, from the Miami Dade Crime Lab. I'm calling about your brother…"


	6. Chapter 5

AN: Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you liked it :) I hope you like this one too, there's not very much action, but anyways... Don't own nothing u recognize. Enjoy, read and of course review :)

Chapter 5

Eric Delko was jogging along the beach. Normally, he did this early in the morning, when nobody was around. It helped him thinking. But today, he decided he would go for a little evening run. To think. Think about what Horatio had told them. As Delko would freely admit, he wasn't too fond of Ryan. At the beginning, he hadn't liked him because he filled the spot Tim, his best friend, had left. He had gotten over this feeling after a while, though. But still… In his eyes, Ryan was a person difficult to be with. Too eager to please everyone at the lab, sometimes arrogant as hell, and, what he disliked most about him, he was too much in love with the media. But now, as Delko was sitting down on a bench next to the beach, he understood everything. He had to admit, he never thought about Ryan's personal life. But then again, Ryan had never talked about it. At least not much. A bit about his uncle… they knew he had a niece…. but that was it. They hadn't known anything about Ryan's parents so far. Delko just remembered that Ryan had once told him that he had to work to pay his studies. But he didn't tell him anything more than he had to know. Now that he knew what had happened to Ryan, he understood everything….

---

Calleigh had gone to the gun range. She had once found out that she could think best while firing bullets on a target. She could have done it also at the HQ; she was sure that there were some guns which only waited to get tested. But she needed to be alone. Being around her workmates right now distracted her; everybody from dayshift just talked about one thing: Ryan Wolfe. Calleigh had always sort of liked Ryan. Already on his first case, Ryan had shown that he took this job serious. And that he wasn't out to make friends in the first place. For him, justice and truth had been more important than just being loved by everyone right from the start. But it had changed during the years. A bit at least. The truth was still important to him, and he had never tried to everybody's favourite. But she had seen his struggle to get appreciated for the work he did. He wanted to be accepted and respected. Not more, not less. And he had tried hard to get that. And now Calleigh knew why. Because, apparently, he had never been appreciated at home for what he was, but only for what he should become. And since he didn't choose that path, he had been thrown out. Practically, he was told that he wasn't worth a damn thing, if he didn't do what he was told to. Calleigh had noticed that too. That he followed orders without ever objecting. It was something Calleigh had always thought of as very weird. She didn't know anybody else who was like this. But now, of course, it was clear to her; he was used to follow orders. God knew what orders he had already followed in his life. And how he had been punished for not doing it…

-----

When Alexx Woods got home that night, she saw her children and her husband sitting at the dressed table, dinner was ready, she just had to sit down and enjoy it. But while she was eating, she could only think of Ryan. Had he ever had a dinner like this, family dinner, where everybody told the others about their day, about things they thought about… just relaxing from day's hard work or studies… She doubted it. She had spent several lunch breaks with Ryan, and it rarely happened that he talked. Normally he would just sit there and eat. She had sensed something was wrong with Ryan. From the beginning on. But, being honest to herself, she had to admit that she never bothered about asking. What worth would it have been? He wouldn't have opened up to her anyways…. But now, Horatio counted on her to keep an eye on Ryan. And she would do. So, right after dinner, she got up and told her husband there was something she had to take care of. Then she grabbed her car keys and drove over to Ryan's flat.

-----

Ryan was reluctant to open the door at first. But he knew, if he wouldn't, Alexx would be worried as hell. And he seriously didn't need more attention drawn to him than necessary. So he just opened the door, let Alexx in, poured two coffees and sat down on the couch.

"So, you wanna talk to me, I guess?"

Alexx shook her head, "I just wanted to check you're okay. It has been a hard day for you. I know how close you and Ron are…"

Ryan nodded, "Without him, I wouldn't be here. I would do anything to save him…"

"I know, Ryan. I…" she stopped a bit, not knowing how to put it. "I can understand that you don't wanna talk about… what Horatio has told us. But I want you to know, if you ever need somebody to talk to… I'm there."

Ryan had to smile, "I do know, Alexx. It's just… There are people out there who need more help than I do. It's just…" He shrugged, "I don't want them all to look at me like 'Oh poor Ryan, such a terrible, terrible childhood….' I mean, come on, I meet people who are worse off than me everyday. I had cases where children died from abuse. Those are the ones they should worry about. I'm over it…"

"I hear what you say but… You have to understand us too. You're a friend of us, even if Delko doesn't admit. And we worry about our friends. And the fact that nobody actually knows what has happened makes us nervous."

Ryan nodded, "I know… it's just… I don't wanna talk about it. I don't want people to look different at me than they do normally."

"I talked to Horatio… Your father and mother are coming over. Tomorrow. I thought you should know…" Alexx had told him so he wouldn't face his father unprepared. And when she saw his reaction to that news, she knew it was the right thing. He was trembling. No, not trembling, shaking. But only for a few seconds. Then he took a deep breath.

"Thanks for letting me know…"

Alexx just looked at him, "Oh gosh, baby, what has he done to you?"

Ryan smiled a bitter smile, "He broke me…"

"You're not broken, Ryan."

"I am. And scared." He got up and said, "I think you better go now…"

"Don't throw me out, Ryan. I know you need help. And I'm here to give it to you."

But Ryan shook his head again, "I can do this alone. I have to. And I don't want to bother anybody."

"You don't bother me, Ryan…"

"Just go, will you?"

Alexx sighed and got up, "I'm available 24/7 for you Ryan…" She laid her hand on his shoulder. "You're not alone on this, Ryan. He can't do anything to you anymore."

"Not more than he has already done, you mean?" He opened the door. "I see you at work." Alexx gave him a last look and then left. Ryan closed the door behind her and then went back and sat down on the couch again. So, his father was about to come to Miami. _Okay. Don't freak. It's gonna be alright. Maybe you're not even gonna see him. No, you want to see him. You want to get over it. Stop running away from it…. _He walked over to the bathroom. When he saw his face in the mirror, he saw nothing but fear. _Why am I so afraid? He's not going to do anything to me. I'm old enough to defend myself. _Not that he would in the first place. He took a deep breath. It would be alright. Hard, yes. But alright. He had to overcome that fear. Finally. And he would.


	7. Chapter 6

AN: Wow, that was a fast update :) I hope you enjoy this too, read, review and.... feel :)

Chapter 6

10 a.m. Horatio sat in the interrogation room, opposite to Duke Arman Wolfe. Before Horatio started asking questions, he eyed the man. Even if he didn't know the name, he would have immediately guessed that he was related to Ryan. The same shade of brown hair, the same way of frowning, the same way of sitting on a chair… The only difference Horatio could make out was that this man had nothing of Ryan's warm attitude. He shook his head a bit and started with the interrogation.

"Mr Wolfe, I want to thank you for coming over so fast… I'm sure this must have been a shock for you to hear about your brother…"

Duke grinned a bit, "To be honest, Lieutenant, it's not. I always knew this way of living would bring him into trouble eventually. Of course, I'm a bit shocked that he has been kidnapped, but to say it surprised me would be a lie."

"I see…" Horatio thought a bit about how to go on. He believed that Duke wasn't involved in the kidnapping. After all, he was a soldier. And Horatio believed they were, apart from any exceptions, the good ones. But maybe he had one of this exceptions right in front of him. He had to put it to the test. "Mr Wolfe, when did you last see your brother?"

"A long time ago, Lieutenant. I don't know exactly, but around ten to twelve years ago. We never had the best of relationships, even when we were children. I think it must be twelve years. Maybe even more." Horatio was at a lack of words. This man didn't even remember approximately at what time he had seen his brother the last time, while his son was able to remember the exact date… _8/12/97…_But he decided to not say anything about that.

"Mr Wolfe… we searched your brother's flat and found this…" He showed Duke a picture of the belt. "We found DNA of three people on it. One of it being yours…"

Duke watched the picture a few seconds and then grinned, "And you want to know how my brother got it?"

"Indeed I do, Sir…"

"The evening we met for the last time, he was at my house. We had a huge fight. In the course of that fight, my brother stormed into my office, took the belt and left again."

"You didn't stop him?"

"Why would I? He's been stealing stuff since he was nine years old… Just out of curiosity, have you ever met my brother?"

"As a matter of fact I haven't…"

"I see… and you said you found… DNA from three different donors on it?"

"We did."

Now Duke grinned even more, "Then I wonder how you concluded that it was my belt. Since you could never ask my brother about it, you couldn't know for sure it wasn't his, or the other one's. Unless… you had a third source…."

Horatio froze. Now, he had made a mistake. The man was completely right; without Ryan's statement, Horatio would have had no idea that the belt belonged to Duke. The man had just tricked him. First of all by asking if he wondered how Ron had gotten it. By saying yes instead of asking if it was Duke's belt at all, Horatio had revealed that he knew from the start whom the belt belonged to. And by asking the question whether or not he had ever met Ron, Duke had wanted to make sure that it wasn't Ron who had told Horatio. And thus concluded that the team actually had somebody telling them the truth, someone NOT being Ron. And of course, Duke knew who that somebody was. Horatio took a shot.

"Mr Wolfe, with all due respect, but don't underestimate my team. Your DNA was found on the whole belt including the buckle. We're not idiots; why else would your DNA be on the buckle if you're not the owner…."

"Of course… Well, as I said, he stole the belt from me."

"You have any idea why?"

"I don't think this is of any importance here."

"That's for me to decide…"

Duke leaned forward, "Okay, then, if you think you need it. He stole it because he wanted to give the boy I used to call my son the chance to press charges against me for beating him up." Of all the answers, Horatio had not expected that one. The man in front of him admitted having abused his son…. _what he used to call his son_… Horatio smiled a bit and then asked:

"So practically he didn't really steal it, but you knew he had it?"

"And you're not asking about my choice of words… Lieutenant, I've spent more than half of my life interviewing people. I know how to do it. And I dare to say, from what I saw today, I know better than you how to do it, since I got you twice. Where is Ryan?"

Since Duke knew it, Horatio saw no need in denying it anymore, "Ryan is not a part of this case, Sir."

"You must have interviewed him on the case. Or otherwise, you wouldn't know anything about it."

"I interviewed him about his uncle. And about the belt. I know what you have done to him."

"I put him in his place."

"You abused him."

"This conversation is over, Lieutenant. Unless you have anymore questions concerning the kidnapping of my brother, I have nothing to say anymore." Duke got up from his chair and left the interrogation room. On his way outside, he passed Ryan, who had waited around the corner, wanting desperately to see his father. Duke looked at him for a second but then he walked on. Ryan watched his father walking away. He had to lean against the wall. His father's reaction was a slap in the face. It was worse than any insult or beating he ever received. _He didn't even recognize me…_His own father didn't even recognize him… He heard his cell phone ringing. With trembling fingers he flipped it open.

"Ryan Wolfe?"

"Ryan, this is Ann. Ann Evans. Listen, I had something in my mail today… Ron's ring. You know, the golden ring? What shall I do with it?"

"Don't touch it anymore. I'll send someone of the team over to collect it." He closed the cell. Ron's ring. Somebody had to have taken it off his finger… _Oh lord please, let there be DNA from the kidnapper on it…_ He put the phone away. Something was odd. He raised his head- and immediately felt as if somebody had punched him. His father was there. Standing in front of him. _Looking_ at him. It occurred to Ryan in a split second. He had answered his phone with his name. And his father must have heard it. Now he looked at him, his eyes cold as steel. Ryan felt his legs shaking, his knees shaking…. He couldn't help but lowering his head. He had to. He was still afraid. Duke grinned a bit:

"Ryan Wolfe, eh?"

----

Uh, cliffhanger... Evil me....


	8. Chapter 7

AN: I had so much trouble writing this, so I hope you'll like it. As always, please read and review...

Chapter 7

Duke watched his son another minute. Ryan just stood there, waiting for something to happen. He didn't know what he was waiting for, exactly. Maybe for the old man to ask him how he was and what he was doing here… Something that showed him his father had forgotten how they had separated so many years ago.

But Duke Wolfe hadn't forgotten. "Ryan Wolfe… So, you're still alive I see… Been living with Ron, right?" He looked around, "So, this is where you work? Local police station? What are you doing here, scraping road kill off the street? That's what you're going to send one of the 'team' for, getting a dead squirrel of the road? I knew you'd end up like this…."

"I…"

"I cannot remember having allowed you to talk. You know, I wonder actually it surprises me so much… I always knew you'd be a failure. I tried my best to form you into a man, but I knew from the beginning on it was hopeless. You're still a wuss. Did you actually try to become a cop? I guess you didn't. You probably just hung around at Ron's flat, living from his money and then took the first job you got, right? Ron always believed in you, and now look what has happened. If you were a cop like you had planned to, you could probably help him. But well… You're worth a damn shit…."

"I…"

"Shut up. I don't want to hear anything from you. What do you want to say? That I'm wrong? I'm not. I just have to look at you and I see that you haven't changed a bit. Just look at the way you're standing there, looking at your feet. You're not even man enough to look into my face. Are you scared of me, or are you just afraid to see all that disappointment in my face? You've got no backbone at all. Look at me." Ryan couldn't. He was too scared. "Yeah, I thought so. Well, I knew it from the beginning. No backbone. You're a shame to the family."

--

Eric and Calleigh stood around the corner, listening closely. Calleigh frowned:

"This must be the worst thing any father has ever told his son…"

"You think we should interfere?"

"No. You know how Ryan hates it when we stuck our noses in his personal stuff…"

Delko shook his head, "But we cannot let this happen. Normally we would interfere."

"Believe me Eric, it's better not to. That bastard is basically telling him he's a wuss, what do you think he will think if we just go there and say something when Ryan doesn't? If this was you and your father, you'd probably punch anybody that comes and tries to help you."

"Yeah, probably…."

--

Horatio Caine was listening too. But he didn't interfere either; mainly because of the same reason Calleigh had stopped Delko from interfering. As much as he wanted to help, he knew this was something only Ryan could stop. And he knew Ryan would eventually. He had watched Ryan over the past few years. Now he had started to understand him a bit more. And from experience he knew one thing: at some point, Ryan would answer. Ryan was generally a calm guy who knew how to hide his emotions, but at some point, he'd freak out. Horatio had seen it happen. It took a lot to make Ryan cross that line, but if he was close enough, one wrong word was enough and Ryan would lose his temper. And, watching Ryan standing there, his fist clenched, trembling, Horatio knew it was only a matter of seconds…

--

Ryan tried to breathe. Calmly. He was scared, yes. To death. After all, who wouldn't? And he truly felt like crap. He knew his whole team was there. And he knew they were listening. And watching. Watching how he didn't do anything. How he didn't say anything. But it was enough now…

"… I just wonder how you can live with this. You could have made a career in the army."

Ryan raised his head, "Yes, well I decided to stay here and protect children from people like you…"

Duke immediately came one step closer and raised his hand, but then he remembered where he was and lowered it again.

--

Calleigh managed to pull Eric back just in time before he could run over to Ryan.

"Eric!!"

"He just wanted to slap him! Now, I don't like Ryan, but this goes too far."

"Eric! This is not our business. Look, Ryan didn't even flinch…"

--

Horatio had noticed it too. Ryan didn't move a bit. He didn't know whether it was because the movement Ryan's father had made was just too quick for him to see or just because he knew what would come and was ready to take it. He actually hoped it was the first possibility.

--

Ryan had seen it coming. If he had learned anything in his life, it was to foresee his opponent's movements. It had failed him once, when he hadn't foreseen somebody would shoot a nail at him. But never before and never again. He had known that what he said would make his father loose his temper, so he was prepared. And he was determined not to step back, not to lower his gaze and not to flinch. And when he saw his father lowering his hand again, he knew he had won this time. He even managed to put a smile on and said:

"And now, I apologize, but I have some work to do." He turned on his heel when suddenly Valera raced around the corner:

"Guys, we have a situation."

Ryan frowned, "I hate this phrase…."

Valera nodded, "You're gonna hate this more. Erika Sikes is on TV. And she knows everything. About your uncle being kidnapped, about the scientist, about… the nerve toxin…" She couldn't even finish the sentence when Ryan, Calleigh, Eric and Horatio ran over to the AV room.

---


	9. Chapter 8

A/N. Thanks very much to all of my lovely reviewers, I'm so glad you like the sequel. Anyways, about the following chapter, I'm not sure about this whole military and National Guard thing, I'm not a US citizen, so, if that might be wrong, please don't hate me....

Disclaimer: I own Ryan's parents and his uncle as portayed here as well as Ann Evans.

Chapter 8

When they arrived in the AV room, Erika was just getting started on her news report:

"My source has confirmed that the terrorists are after a nerve toxin which the scientist Hans Kaufman is currently developing. To get it, they have apparently kidnapped a known safecracker and are now using him to get his workmate to open the safe. My source has furthermore confirmed that the safecracker in question is Ron Wolfe, uncle of CSI Ryan Wolfe. It's going to be interesting to see how the local CSI team is going to handle such a delicate case. Of course now it is legitimate to ask why the National Guard hasn't been informed yet, why we have no military here to protect the people of the city from this terrorist danger and why not even the FBI seems to know about the danger. I try to ask the supervisor of the Dayshift, Horatio Caine, about it. This was Erika Sikes."

Valera turned off the TV. The team though continued staring at the screen, trying to understand what had just happened. Horatio was the first one to speak:

"Mr Wolfe, is there a possibility that Ms Evans has talked to the press?"

Ryan frowned, "I doubt it. I don't know her really well, but I don't think she'd run to Erika Sikes. She likes my uncle too much to do such a thing…"

"Then how did Ms Sikes found out about it?"

"You ask me, somebody overheard us in the bar when Ann told me about it."

Horatio nodded, "That sounds possible. Well, we do have a problem now. Now that Ms Sikes has revealed everything, we absolutely have to inform the FBI and have them send military forces over. It's out of our hands now…"

"You should have informed them earlier. If the military was here, they would have found my brother already." said a voice from the door.

Horatio turned around, "Didn't you want to leave, Mr Wolfe? I don't think you can be of any more use here."

Ryan's father leaned against the door pole, "I seriously doubt you know what you're up to. This is a terrorist situation. It's out of your hands."

"We know what we do. Good bye."

Duke shrugged, "Well, the national guard and the military will take care of this. Saving the world from terrorists has never been the work of… scientists." He nearly spat the last word out.

Delko frowned, "If I'm not mistaken, your lot has not yet managed to catch Bin Laden? Well, while you're on that ghost hunt, we at least caught some serious mafia people over here." Then he shook his head, "Just why am I actually talking to you? God knows, you should be in prison for child abuse."

Duke laughed, "Aw, was that little prick crying all over the place about his bad, bad father?" He looked at Ryan, "Didn't think you would want anyone to know how weak you are. I would be ashamed if I was you."

Ryan just shrugged, "I learned along the way that I don't have to. And now, excuse me, but I have something to take care of. Guys, I see you around."

He walked towards the door where his father was standing. Duke looked at him, but Ryan didn't look back. His mind was far away from the crime lab. He wouldn't let military or the FBI take over. That would just take too long. He would do it the Horatio-Caine-way. He would take matters into his own hands. And seeing Ann Evans was the first step. He was just about to leave the building when he heard Paula at the reception desk saying:

"Look, I cannot call Lieutenant Caine when he's in the middle of an interview, even if it is your husband he's interviewing."

Husband? Ryan turned around to see to whom Paula was talking. He recognized her immediately. The hair was shorter and of a more dark blond than he remembered it. She had become thinner but she still was a beautiful woman. His mother, Doreen Wolfe. The feeling he had earlier when running into his father was nothing like the feeling he had now. She had always been good to him, she had comforted him when his father had been too hard on him and she had tried to convince his father to not throw him out… He bit his lower lip. To see his mother hurt him even more than to see his father. He watched her for another second. She stood there, waiting impatiently for her husband to come back, and Paula had already an annoyed look on her face. He had to smile. Although his mother actually was the calmest in the whole family, she could really make a point if she wanted to. Now she turned around to check if Duke wasn't approaching. Her eyes met Ryan's. Ryan looked back. Paula was just staring to explain something to her again, but she waved her silent and started walking towards Ryan.

When she stood in front of him, she eyed him for a minute and then said, "You've grown up, Ryan."

"And you haven't changed a bit, Ma'am…" It was a lie, though. Now that she stood so close in front of him, he could see the wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. It hurt Ryan to think that she had cried because of him.

But now, she smiled, "I know you're trying to be polite…" But then her smile faded, "What happened to your face?"

"I beg your pardon?" He didn't know what she meant.

She raised her hand to his right eye, "That scar. It wasn't there when I saw you the last time…"

Ryan stepped back, "Oh... that… I… err… I had an accident…."

"Accident?"

"Yeah… I…" He didn't want to tell her. She would tell her husband. Ryan still felt that it was his fault, because he had ignored all the rules. He wouldn't have been shot with that nail gun if he had waited for backup, if he had waited until they had cleared the scene. He had failed at that point, and his father would just feel as if he had been right and Ryan wasn't good enough to be a cop. But then he saw his mother's look. Worried. And he decided that it didn't matter to him whether or not his father thought like that. "I got shot at with a nail gun."

"With a nail gun? How did that happen, I thought you were a criminalist?"

"I… How do you know?"

She smiled, "Do you really think I could forget you? You're my son. Ron and I talk on a weekly basis. Although, I see now that he hasn't told me everything. My poor little one, is everything alright with your eye?"

He nodded, "That was years ago…"

"And nobody told us…" She shook her head. Then she asked, "Have you met your father yet?"

Ryan bit his lower lip, "Yes."

"And?" Her eyes were so full of hope; maybe, after twelve long years, they would come to their senses?

But Ryan shook his head, "Forget it. He made fun of me, put my work down, almost slapped me in front of my colleagues and said that now that the military will be involved they'll find Ron in the blink of an eye."

Now it was Doreen's turn to shake her head, "In less than an hour… that's a new record even for him…. I'm sorry, Ryan. You know, I…"

But she got interrupted by Duke who was just walking around the corner. "Doreen, we're leaving." Then he saw Ryan. "You're still here?"

Ryan decided to ignore his father this time. He wasn't in the mood for another fight. So he just said to his mother, "It was nice seeing you again, Ma'am. I hope you have a pleasant stay here in Miami. And don't worry. We're gonna find Ron. Regardless of other people's opinions in this room." He turned around, walked to the door, left the building and walked over to his Hummer. It was time to visit Ann.


	10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Don't own anything besides Ann Evans. **WARNING: There's gonna be mentions of child abuse in this chapter. Paragraphs in Italics are flashback**

Chapter 9

Ryan arrived at Ann's flat half an hour later. He could hear the loud music already downstairs. When she opened the door, he knew why. She was practising. She smiled apologetically at him:

"I should have gone to the gym today, since I didn't know when somebody would come, so I practised here instead." She switched the music off and pointed at her writing desk. "There it is. I haven't touched it no more."

"Thanks, Ann." He bagged it and put it into his kit. Then he said, "Have you been listening to the news?"

"No, I haven't. What happened?" Ryan filled her in. "Oh God. Ryan, I promise, I have nothing to do with it."

"It's okay, Ann. It's just, now, they're gonna have the National Guard coming over… and I don't know how this is gonna turn out for Ron…."

"Well, you said from the beginning on…"

"Yes, I know, but I didn't expect media to spill their information all over the place." He sighed, "Listen. I was thinking of something, but I'm gonna need your help."

"Sure, you can count on me. What can I do for you?"

"I wanna break into that house."

Ann's jaw dropped, "What? You can't be serious. You're a cop; you shouldn't break into other people's houses."

"I know. The thing is that we need to let them know that the house has been broken in. Before the National Guard arrives. If they hear the house has been broken into, they will assume that you have the toxin, they will call you for the drop-off, and we have a chance to catch them."

Ann walked over to the fridge and took a bottle of water out, "So, practically, you don't want to break into the house, you just want it to look like it had been broken into?

"And the safe."

Ann sighed, "Ryan. You know I would do it immediately. For Ron. But… You risk everything there, Ryan. And Ron wouldn't want that." She smiled, "He told me about how you love that job. And how happy he is that you managed to be so happy. You wouldn't wanna throw this away, would you?"

"No…"

"Let me tell you something. Here's what we gonna do. You teach me how to open a safe. I know, Ron has failed, but maybe I just need time. I'm going to break into that house, I'm going to crack that safe. You just sit down and do nothing. If I get caught, at least you'll have nothing to do with it."

"Ann, this is really great but…"

Ann interrupted him, "Ryan. Your uncle has done a lot for me. More than I possibly ever could pay him back. It's the least I can do…" She sighed, "Ron has told me a lot about you. I know you're probably not that happy about it, but… Well, let's just say, he is proud of you. So much that I can't even put it in words. When you lost your job, it nearly broke his heart too. And he was so happy when you got reinstated. If you risk your job like this, and I help you, he's never going to talk to me again. I can't possibly let that happen."

Ryan watched her, "Why do I have the feeling that you actually want to do this more for Ron than for me?"

She blushed a bit, "You might be right about that…"

Ryan grinned, "I see… Okay. I agree with that idea. You got a safe here?" Ann motioned him to the bedroom. In the corner was the safe. Ryan knelt down before it. "I hope you have nothing too private in there?"

"Yes, I have loads of used underwear and all my little sex toys in there…." Ryan turned around and saw that she was grinning. "No seriously. Just some jewellery. For girls, so I know you won't steal it."

"Excellent. Come here, sit down next to me." Ann did as she was told. "Now, it's quite easy. Frankly, no offense, any idiot can do it."

"None taken… Not yet."

"Well, you gotta listen…." Ryan explained. "See, you have a combination of numbers…. When you hit a right number in the combination, the click sound is different than if you just don't hit the right number… Listen." He turned on the wheel, then suddenly paused. "First number is a 2, right?"

"Affirmative."

"Excellent. Now you try."

Ann grinned, "Well, I know the code…."

Ryan shook his head, "That won't help you." He motioned her to turn around. When she had done, he puts his hands over her eyes. "Now you try."

She reached her hand out to find the wheel. "Is that how Ron thought you?"

"No… actually…." He closed his eyes.

-----

_It was dark. Ron had turned all the lamps off and had put all the shutters down. Not a single source of light elucidated the room. But luckily, Ryan wasn't afraid of the dark. How could he? After having spent so many nights in the dark basement when his father had punished him, he knew that darkness wouldn't harm him. And he knew how to handle darkness. He heard Ron's voice behind him:_

"_Okay, Ryan. Now listen, because this is important. You know what my flat looks like. Imagine it before your eyes. The most crucial thing as a burglar and safe cracker is to know where you are, because every noise you make can lead to a catastrophe. Someone could hear you. Now, I want you to go to my safe. Just as you would do if the lights are on."_

"_Don't I get a flashlight?"_

"_You won't need it. You know what the room looks like. Now, walk and be careful."_

"_You follow me?"_

"_Of course. When did I ever leave you alone?"_

_It reassured Ryan. Even though his uncle was slightly drunk, he would never do any harm to Ryan. And he wouldn't make him do that if he knew something could hurt him. So Ryan started walking. Slow steps. He closed his eyes because, even though everything was dark around him, he could concentrate better with his eyes closed. Something his father had always hated. He moved on. 'There's the couch. Two steps to the left, then I should avoid it.' He made two steps to the left and moved on. He didn't hit the couch. He walked slowly towards the wall. Then he reached out his hand. His fingers touched the wall 'There's the wall. Now to the right. But careful, there's a little footstool, the cupboard with the glasses and his shoe cabinet.' He walked slowly, his hands not letting go off the wall. Then it happened. His knee bumped into the footstool and knocked it over. Ryan froze, but then he felt Ron's hand on his shoulder._

"_You're okay?"_

"_Yes, but the…"_

"_Don't worry. Just go on."_

_Ryan took a deep breath to calm down. His father would have punished him now. It was like this when he tried to show him what would happen if this was serious and he would have stepped on a landmine. Normally he would tug his hair violently, because he knew how that hurt. Or just slap him loudly. Ron didn't. On the contrary, he asked:_

"_Hey, Ryan, you're really okay? Or should we stop?"_

_But Ryan shook his head, "I'm okay…"_

_He continued walking. His hand reached out to see where the cupboard was. When he found it, he didn't let go, but felt his way around it. Then he knelt down and felt for the shoe cabinet. When his fingers touched the cold wood, he felt his way around that too. Then he got up again, walked two steps and then opened the door to the bedroom. There he turned right again and stood in front of the safe. _

_Ron laid his hand on Ryan's head, "Good job, little one. Now, open the safe."_

"_But how do I…?"_

"_Just listen. To listen is the most important part. It's a distinctive click noise you'll hear when you have a hit. Let me show you. Put your ear on the door."_

_Ryan did as he was told when Ron started to turn on the wheel. And then he heard it. A distinctive click noise. "I think that was right." _

"_Good, Ryan. Your turn…"_

_It was a matter of half a minute until Ryan had opened the door. _

"_Was that good?" he asked._

_He felt Ron's hand on his shoulder again, "Very good, Ryan. I always said you're the smartest young boy I know. Damn it, I didn't know how to open a safe when I was eleven." He turned the lights back on. "Come on. Let's go outside and get you an ice-cream."_

------

"It's open." Ann looked at her safe door in amazement. "Damn, Ron failed and you managed to teach me in…."

"… half a minute…." Ryan finished the sentence and took his hands off Ann's eyes. "Just remember to wipe the door afterwards or they gonna find your ear print…"

Ann turned back to him, "What do I do once the door is open? Do I take the toxin?"

"I have thought about that too." He shook his head. "No. Just tell me what it looks like. Colour, consistency… We're gonna give the kidnappers a placebo. I do think it's gonna be transparent and liquid, pretty much like water." Then he paused, "You sure you wanna do this? I have no idea how Kaufmann has secured the area. He could have guard dogs, he could have an alarm system, he…."

Now Ann smiled, "Ryan. I'm a pro. Just like you. I have been to all sorts of houses, even to some museums. I know every kind of security system there is. No one will catch me."

Ryan nodded, "Okay. Just take care, will you?"

"Of course…"

They got up from the floor and went back to the living room. Ryan felt he should leave now, "I'm gonna take the ring to the lab… When are you going to… you know?"

"Tonight. You want this done as quick as possible, so do I. I want Ron back…" She sighed, "I hope they didn't hurt him…."

"So do I…"

---

AN: I hope you liked this. When I wrote it I thought it might be a bit out of character for Ryan to actually plan to break into a house, but then I thought, he's more similar to Horatio than it appears on the show, and I guess Horatio would do it... but I don't know... and in the end, he didn't do it so I guess it's alright.


	11. Chapter 10

A/N: Thank you all very much for your kind reviews, and adding me to all your lists, it means a lot to me. I hope you're gonna like the following chapter too.

Disclaimer: I only own Ann Evans and Ryan's family as portrayed here.

Chapter 10

"…_a man on your side… Someone that you think that you can trust is just another way to diiiiieeeee…. It's another way…… Shoot 'em up, bang bang_!" (1)

Ryan opened his eyes, "Oh yeah, just great. Hopefully that doesn't mean bad news…" He turned the alarm off. "Shoot 'em up, bang, bang… If I'm lucky I get to shoot those bloody terrorists…" Then he realized it was the morning after. He immediately turned the clock radio back on, not wanting to miss the news.

"Police has been called to a scene in the middle of the night when the house of the well known scientist Hans Kaufman had been broken into. According to the police, nothing had been stolen. But of course, the people of Miami are very aware of the fact that only yesterday, television reported on the fact that Kaufman was developing a new nerve toxin and that terrorists have kidnapped a well-known safe cracker to help them get that toxin. The question now is whether or not this break-in has anything to do with the terrorist threat… Weather forecast: The sun is…"

Ryan turned the radio of again. So, Ann had managed to break into the house. At that precise moment his cell phone rang. He answered it immediately:

"Wolfe?

"It's me, Ann."

"Everything alright?"

"Yes. Everything as we planned. And you were right. Colourless liquid. Like water."

"Somebody called you already?"

"Yes. Tonight, 11:30, South beach. I told them to bring Ron or else they wouldn't get the toxin. They told me to come alone."

Ryan grinned, "They always do. I'll get the cops there. You just prepare the placebo, alright?"

"Yeah… You really think this will work?"

"We're all trained people. If they bring Ron along, we'll get him. And we sure as hell will get them…"

-----

At 11 PM, everything was set. Ann was there, dressed all in black. Ryan watched her from his hiding place. She was there, walking around like it was an ordinary evening walk. Nothing suggested she was nervous, or that anything was unusual. Ryan had hidden behind a huge sand bank, his gun already drawn. He couldn't see them, but he knew there must have been about half of the Miami PD around to cover them. When he had met Horatio this morning, he had told him everything. Horatio had not been too thrilled about Ryan's actions, but he had finally admitted it had been a good idea and had made sure neither Ryan nor Ann would be punished for it. After all, Horatio knew well enough that, had it been a member of his family, he would have done the same. Now Horatio was in his Hummer, a few miles away from South Beach. The whole area was secured as much as they could without being too obvious. If the terrorists appeared, they would never get out again.

--

At exactly 11:30, a car appeared at the beach. Ann, who had been sitting in the sand, got up and walked to one of the streetlamps, so that they would see she was already there. Ryan watched them without moving. He and Ann had agreed on which streetlamp she should go to, so that he could see her. Now she leaned against it. The car came to a halt; a door opened. Ryan could hear steps on the sand. And then a voice:

"Miss Evans… I'm glad you finally agreed on meeting with us. Where is the toxin?"

"Where is my partner?" Ryan had to admit, she was smart. Asking for her partner could mean anything, from workmate to lover. Like this, they would perhaps not try to blackmail her with some 'do this or we kill your boyfriend' talk.

"First the toxin."

"First my partner."

Ryan heard the distinctive click of a gun.

"You don't really think we're gonna do this according to your rules, lady? Give me the toxin."

"No. First I want to know if you're ready to fulfil your part of that deal." Ann, who was obviously at the business end of the gun, didn't show any sign of fear. Ryan didn't know why, but he felt deep inside that this wasn't the first time Ann Evans had a gun pointed at her. A long silence made him feel uncomfortable. He knew if he decided to end the show, if he needed to get out of his hiding place to protect Ann, it was over. For them and for Ron. He put it off. If they were lucky, Ann managed to see if Ron was really with them before she had her brains blown out.

Then the man broke the silence. "Get him out."

Another car door opened, the noise of something falling down on the ground and then Ryan heard Ann screaming, "Ron!!!!"

And then he heard the voice of his uncle, "Ann, don't do it!! Run!!!"

"Shut up!" the voice yelled at him, and the noise of a foot hitting flesh was followed by Ron's pain filled scream. Ryan felt his fingers holding his gun tighter.

But Ann already said, "Stop that. Ok, here's what we gonna do. Your friend over there comes here, with my partner, and then we have a nice, clean exchange. What do you say?"

There was again a silence, but then he said, "Okay, lady. But don't pull any tricks around me, because I will shoot your pretty face into pieces… Okay, come over here, and bring the guy with you!" Ryan turned around a bit to see something. It was in that moment when it happened. Sirens. Immediately the voice said, "I told you to play no tricks on me, lady!" A shot echoed, a dumb noise followed and then steps running away from the scene. Ryan got out of his hiding place and pointed his gun at the man running away from the scene.

"Miami Dade Police, put your hands in the air!" But the man didn't stop. And worse, he still had a firm grip on Ron, so Ryan didn't dare to shoot in case he'd hit his uncle. So he just repeated, "Put your hands in the air or I'll shoot!" He fired a shot in the direction of the car, but missed the back tyre only by a few inches. In the meantime the guy had opened the car door and had pushed Ron into it. He followed, and the car started speeding up before the door was closed. Ryan pulled his cell out and called Horatio: "Horatio, it failed, they still have my uncle. They've just driven away, heading east. It's a black SUV. I'm alright, yes… Ann?" He turned around to see that Ann was actually sitting in the sand, hand clutched tightly around her finger. Next to her lay the body of a man, dressed in black too. Ryan frowned, "Yeah, I think Ann might be alright too… You mighty wanna send some guys over; we have one of the terrorists…. You see the other ones? Give them hell, Horatio." He put his cell away. "Is he….?"

"No, unconscious. When I heard the sirens, I pushed his hand away from my face and planted a punch on his chin… Black belt… Always comes in handy. But I think I broke my finger…"

Ryan knelt down and took a look at her hand, "Yeah, definitely. We'll get you to the hospital." He then shook his head. "We were so close…."

"Why the sirens?"

"They were probably on some other call. God damn it."

"At least we now Ron's still alive…"

Ryan shook his head; now he was desperate, "They'll kill him now. I fucked up…"

Ann reached in her pocket and took something out, "We still have the toxin…. And we have one of them. Maybe this guy's important enough for them to agree on an exchange…"

Ryan heard sirens approach. "Let's hope you're right…" He got up and waved the patrols to come over. "Take him to hospital and then back to HQ. And don't let him alone, not even for a second. I'll send one of the team over to process him." The patrol nodded and brought the unconscious man to the car. Then he turned back to Ann. "Do you think you can handle the pain? I… I need to call someone to process you too. You might have some evidence on you…"

"Yeah, sure…. It's not that bad if I don't move my finger…" She gave him a weak smile. Ryan returned it and got back on his phone.

---

Calleigh arrived as soon as she could. She gave Ryan an encouraging smile. "It's gonna be alright. We're gonna find your uncle…"

"You think so?"

"Of course, Ryan. Remember, we have one of them in our hands now. Eric will find something that will lead us to them. We're the CSI. We're scientists. And science will help us." She walked over to Ann. "I heard you have one hell of a punch?"

Ann smiled, "You never know who you're gonna meet on… well, a case, so to say."

"You're right about that one. Now, let's see what you've got for me…."

----

Eric, in the meantime, had driven to the hospital. The terrorist's clothes were already bagged and sealed. The terrorist himself lay handcuffed to a bed and had decided to not speak a word, nor give out his DNA. But Delko had time. Frank Tripp had already been sent to the nearest judge to get a warrant for fingerprints and DNA, so it was only a matter of minutes before he would be able to get what he wanted. In the meantime, he sat there, giving the terrorist the silent treatment and admiring the bruise he was sporting. But also worrying. Would they get Ryan's uncle back at all? He had been through such cases before, and they rarely ended happily ever after. Especially not for the hostages…. He was interrupted in his thoughts by his cellphone. Tripp.

"Yeah, it's Delko."

"I faxed your warrant over to the hospital. Sorry I couldn't come along, but I have been called to another scene. Kidnapping."

"You need some assistance?"

"Natalia is on her way already. I'm not yet at the scene, so I don't know how messy it is."

"Alright, I'll be done here in a few, you need any help, call someone from night shift."

"Got that." Frank hung up, and Delko left the room to get the fax.

----

Horatio arrived on the beach. He shook his head at Ryan's hopeful look, "I'm sorry, Mr Wolfe, but we lost them. How are you and Ms Evans?"

"Calleigh is on her way back to the lab, and a patrol drove Ann to the hospital. She'll meet with you in HQ later to give her statement."

"Very good…." His cell phone rang. "Excuse me…" He took it out. "Yes, Frank?.... I see… Any idea where?... Tell Ms Boa Vista I'll join her immediately…." He put the cell phone away. "Mr Wolfe… We have a situation…."

"What?"

"Apparently, after the terrorists got away from us, they stopped in front of the Hyatt hotel and took a civilian who was just standing there hostage…" He paused and looked deep into Ryan's eyes. "The hostage is your mother."

--

(1) Jack White and Alicia Keys - Another way to die

I don't own music or lyrics


	12. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI Miami

Chapter 11

Ryan felt as if somebody had punched him right in the gut, "What?"

"I'm sorry, Ryan…"

Ryan took a deep breath. First his uncle, now his mother. This couldn't be true now, could it? "You gotta be kidding me…" But he knew Horatio wasn't. "What… How is my father?"

"Upset, but not seriously hurt. He got a smack across his face when he tried to keep them away from your mother. Ryan, I know this is hard, but I need you to keep cool. This is top priority. I need all hands on deck."

"Me too? How about conflict of interest?"

Horatio gave his CSI a smile, "I think we've crossed that line long before."

---

When Ryan arrived at HQ, his father was there too. Ryan met with Frank outside the room where Duke sat, "Why is there no one processing my father?"

"Natalia is at the Hyatt, Calleigh in the ballistics lab with the bullet the terrorist fired and Delko is on his way to HQ. And Horatio's dealing with the media."

Ryan frowned, "You wanna tell me there's no one of the team available…?"

"Exactly."

"And that I…"

"Again, exactly."

Ryan shook his head, "I can't…" But then he knew this was stupid. This was about finding his mother and his uncle, and it was a race against time. So he sighed and entered the room where his father was sitting. He looked pretty beaten. At least on the outside. But Ryan saw from his eyes that he wasn't giving up. And that he wanted this to be over just as fast as Ryan did.

So Ryan walked into the room, put his field kit down and said, "Look. I know this is awkward…."

"It's not awkward, it's useless. My wife has been kidnapped, and you make me sit in a room and tell me something about trace transfer."

"Look. We're in the same situation here. Those guys have two people we care for. Well… you at least for one. I want them back. And even though you might doubt it, we can get them back. If we find solid evidence."

"Haven't you fucked up enough already? If you had shot all of them, my wife wouldn't be missing."

"Well, I would have shot, but there were civilians present, and I might have hit one of them in the process!"

Duke got up. He was still a bit taller than Ryan. "She's a burglar. She is a criminal. Collateral damage."

Ryan shook his head, "I can't believe it. That criminal risked her life to get your brother back! She is sitting next door, with a broken finger because she punched a terrorist who held a gun at her. Thanks to her we have one of them in custody."

Duke watched his son a second and then grinned, "You were there, you had a gun, you're a trained cop… and a girl brought the terrorist down? I always thought something went wrong at the hospital at your birth…."

Ryan had enough. Just enough. In his head, he went over everything that had happened in his young life. 27 years, 15 years of them always under his father's control and the rest of them trying to forget. But he hadn't forgotten. He was reminded of it. Everyday when he looked into the mirror. Every time he had screwed up at the job. Every second when he felt down. It was just enough.

"Okay, I'm fed up. I am so fed up! You think something went wrong at the hospital? I wish it were, but face it: we're related. I had to face that too…"

"What…"

"No! Now you will listen! I know I was never good enough for you. You wanted me to be a proud, strong soldier, but how was I supposed to become proud and strong when you humiliated me all the way? You haven't got the faintest idea what it has done to me. I was only good enough for you as long as I did what you wanted me to do, without ever questioning it. I was only good enough for you as long as you thought I was going to be a soldier. But when I decided I'd do what I wanted to do, I suddenly wasn't worth it anymore. Do you know that I still look every morning at what you've done to me before you threw me out? I didn't go to the police to report you because I didn't want to ruin my family, but coming to think about it, you ruined that family! Now, I guess you don't even remember all the things you've done that broke me, but I do. I think about it everyday. But you know what? In the end you were probably right, because, no matter how much thinking of you hurts me, I managed to grow stronger. Despite all the odds, I managed to get the job I always wanted, and I never came back to you begging for you to accept me as your son again. I got shot, I got almost killed, I was on the edge of loosing my eye sight, but I came back. I made a mistake for which I got fired and I worked every possible job to not depend on anyone else for money while trying to get reinstated, and I came back. Now, I'm trying my best to get back the only people that have ever cared for me, and I will not fail. And no matter what you say or do will make me feel I'm not up to this, because I know how good I am at what I do."

Ryan had to take a breath. He knew that this time his father would probably slap him for what he said no matter where they were because he was under pressure too, but Ryan didn't care. He just had to say it. And he meant every word he said. Yes, he had been doubting everything for almost his whole life because it had been beaten into him that he was weak and a failure and that he had to change that. But thinking this every day had obscured his view for the truth. Namely the truth that he was good at what he did. Now, he saw as clear as day. And nothing his father would do to him now would change that.

Duke watched Ryan after that long speech. Then he slowly raised his hand. The boy was giving him attitude? Now, he would teach him better. But then he looked into Ryan's eyes. Ryan was looking back. His eyes cold as stone and rock steady. And for the second time ever, Duke didn't hit him. Instead he lowered his hand and said, "I thought you wanted to process me?"

Ryan nodded, "Yeah." He took a Q-Tipp out of his kit and swabbed his father's lower lip.

Duke frowned, "What was that for? You have my DNA already."

"It's not about yours. If the guy has hit you, there's transfer. You might have some of his skin between your teeth, or some of his blood anywhere there…." He put the swab away. "Did you hit him too?" Duke didn't answer but held his hand out. Ryan grinned, "Fight bite. We might something from that…"

"Do you really think this is gonna bring us any further to finding my wife and your uncle?"

"I don't think, I know." He put the kit away. "Is there anything else you noticed about him? An accent, a particular smell, anything out of the ordinary? In general, what did he look like?"

Duke frowned, "I told the detective already…."

"Tell me again. Please."

"He was tall, about 6 feet. Broad shoulders, almost like a body builder, but only almost. Left handed. Caucasian. Brown eyes, black hair. Moustache." Now he closed his eyes, "He smelled of…. some really expensive after shave. I can't tell you about an accent because he didn't speak…."

Ryan frowned, "Nobody of them wore a mask. That's bad…"

"I know. It means they don't really plan to let their witnesses go after… you know. Did the man you caught wear a mask?" Ryan shook his head. "Then probably neither Ron nor the girl was supposed to survive this." He rested his arms on the table. "Have you questioned him already?"

Ryan shook his head, "Not formally. Eric maybe has asked him some stuff, but we're gonna take a statement right here…" He got up and added, "Thanks for your cooperation. I know this wasn't easy for you." He walked to the door.

"Ryan?"

Ryan turned around, "Sir?"

"I know you've never appreciated what I've taught you. You told me damn straight today. Nevertheless, this is a critical situation. He's a terrorist. You might want to remember some of the things I taught you when you were a kid when you're questioning him…"

Ryan shook his head, "I have my own methods…." Then he smiled. "But believe me, I haven't forgotten any of yours." He left the room.

---

I hope you liked this one, took me ages to write. Also, I want to say sorry, because it'll take me some time to update again after this one. University has started again, and I'm quite busy with everything so... Sorry again. Don't hate me....


	13. Chapter 12

Sorry for the long wait, but here you have a brand new chapter.

**Warning: ****Mentions of child abuse!!!!!!**

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing you recognize. Please enjoy.

Chapter 12

Delko sat down opposite the terrorist at the table in the interrogation room. Ryan stood behind the terrorist, although out of his eye shot. Ryan knew what this could do to a person. To know someone was standing right behind you, but you couldn't see him, you didn't know what he was doing, or where exactly he stood, you couldn't even prepare yourself to anything he would do.

----

_He heard the cracking of the wooden floor behind himself. __Crack. Crack. Crack. He wondered how often he had already been sitting there, no, kneeling there, his naked back exposed, waiting for the first blow. He knew his father was standing there, but he didn't know how close he was, or how far away, or if he watched him or not. It was worse than the beating Ryan knew would follow. His knees ached from kneeling on the hard floor for such a long time. But he knew that it was good he could actually kneel down. If he had to stand, waiting for the inevitable to happen, his knees would go weak. So weak. He felt his guts churn, his hands trembling. He didn't know what he did wrong this time, what had caused his father to want to teach him a lesson, but he would have confessed anything now to get over with that mental torture and finally hear the first swish of the belt…_

_----  
_

Delko closed the folder he had checked and leaned back, "Antoine Henry… Look, I'm gonna make this fast. You tell me where we can find the hostages and your little friends. We're gonna find them anyway."

Henry just smiled, "Fuck you…"

"Mhm, doesn't sound like you want to be cooperative. How about this: If you don't tell me, I'm gonna make sure you'll spend the rest of your life in jail. And let me tell you, I know some people out there who know would just love a nice French accent in their cell… You still look kinda young, I'm sure you'd have a lot of admirers there…"

Henry still smiled, "You're not gonna find them. Neither my friends, nor your friends. Unless you agree on our deal. Your little girl there still 'as our toxin. We want it. Then you might get your friends back."

"No, Antoine, this is not how it's going to be." Eric said. "You let go of your hostages and turn yourself in and then go to jail. Or you hurt or kill your hostages, we'll catch you and you're gonna end on the chair. Either way, you're going down." He got up. "I'll let you think about this. I'm gonna have a cup of coffee. But don't worry, you'll have some company…" He blinked at Ryan, "Don't go to hard on him." He left.

Ryan had to grin. Delko had been in a similar situation, back then when he and H. had tried to find out who had ordered the hit on Marisol. And he vividly remembered Memmo Fierro's face after it. And now, Delko was giving him the go-ahead. To beat the answer out of Henry, if nothing else helped. But it wasn't Ryan's style. Sure, he had freaked out on people before. But not like this. Frankly, he felt that beating the living crap out of this guy would make him feel much better. He actually felt his fingers itching. But there were other methods. So he just stood there. And waited. For Henry to turn around and face him. But Henry didn't. And more, he didn't seem uncomfortable. Ryan approached him. It was a race against time. God only knew how Ron and his mother were. He had to do something. And he would.

----

_It was the last time he would ever try it. Try to discuss. Try to stand his ground. Try to explain. The next time something like this happened, he would just take it. __He had tried to fight. When his father had called him into his office, cane already in his hand, Ryan had refused to kneel down. Because he didn't deserve that punishment this time. He had tried to defend himself. Against Vincent McCormick. But when the teacher had interfered, Vince had put all the blame on Ryan. And the principal had called. But it was useless to try to convince his father. But he refused to kneel down. Duke had watched him. A second or two, Ryan didn't know. Then he had come over. Slowly, menacing. And then he had grabbed Ryan by the arm and twisted it around. Hard. Ryan screamed out, tears shooting to his eyes from the pain in his arm. It hurt so much… But Duke didn't stop. And he got his will. At some point, when Ryan couldn't handle the pain anymore, he gave up. His knees collided with the floor. Duke let go of Ryan's arm. Ryan huddled on the ground, holding his arm. Duke knelt down beside him. He grabbed Ryan by his neck and held his head to the ground while squeezing hard. "Never again, Ryan. Don't you ever again try this. If I tell you to kneel down, you will kneel down, or I'll make you. And believe me, next time I'm going to break that arm, you understand?" He did._

_----  
_

He heard a muffled scream from Henry when his head collided with the table. But Ryan didn't react. He knew he was putting his career on the line, but he didn't care anymore. There was only one thing that mattered, "Where are your hostages?"

"This is police brutality."

"Answer my question, or I'm gonna give you police brutality." Ryan banged Henry's head once more against the table. "Where are the hostages?"

"Ouch… I'm not gonna tell you!"

"Oh, you will tell me…." Another bang. "We can play this all day, but I'm not sure your head is hard enough, so, where are the hostages?" Another bang.

"You're only gonna find their remains if you're lucky!"

Ryan let go of Henry's head. He had to take another route. He looked outside to see if Delko was already approaching. He wasn't. Ryan closed his eyes. He had to think. And he had to think fast. He sat down opposite Henry and watched him. Henry looked back at him. For long minutes nothing happened. Ryan was out of ideas. He was close to just give up and to admit his failure when he noticed a difference in Henry. It was little, and maybe Ryan hadn't even noticed if he hadn't just looked at him. Henry had started nibbling his lower lip and staring at the wall behind Ryan. When he noticed Ryan was looking at him, he turned his head away. Ryan noticed the sweat on his face. What the hell had gotten into Henry? When Ryan turned around to check, he saw it. A spider on the wall. It was one of the little spiders with the extremely long legs. Ryan grinned. Henry suffered from arachnophobia. He slowly got up and walked to the wall.

------

_Ryan Wolfe was not afraid of a lot of things. Two things, mainly. His father was one of them. The other one was heights. His father had noticed it the first time when Ryan had been standing on the balcony of the house and had started trembling.__ But Duke hadn't shown any sympathy for him. Ryan vividly remembered the trip to NYC when he was about 10. His father had dragged him up to the platform on the Empire State Building. The view must have been amazing, but when Ryan had looked down, he felt his biggest nightmare had come true. He had started shaking. His knees had gone weak. He had tried not to faint, but he had lost. The view around him had started spinning and then it had gone all black. He had been woken up again by his father slapping him. Any other father would have poured some water into his face, but Duke had resolved to slap him, in front of all people. When he was fully awake again, Duke had pulled him into a standing position and pushed him to the security fence again and held him there for over ten minutes. After that, when Duke had turned around and left the platform, Ryan had broken down, crying and trembling. Until now, he still was afraid of heights. Luckily, nobody had discovered it so far…_

_------  
_

"Hey Charlotte… How are you doing?" Ryan whispered when he had the spider sitting on his hand. "Yeah, I know, the glass walls are pretty cold. But let me tell you, the table here's awfully homey. Oh look, there's my friend Antoine. You wanna come over and meet him? Sure…" He walked back to the table. "Antoine, this is Charlotte. Charlotte, meet Antoine. Oh, you wanna sit on his shoulder? Of course. You gonna be good friends." He placed the spider on Antoine's shoulder. The guy was now trembling like hell, and Ryan could hear muffled screams when the spider started moving and crawling up the shoulder to his neck. Ryan watched as tears came to Antoine's eyes and rolled down his cheek. He felt a twinge of sympathy in his heart that even the thought of Ron and his mother being held captive could not erase. He softened his voice, "Just tell me where I can find your hostages, and I'm gonna take the spider off you."

"I… I can't… They're gonna kill me… Fuck you." He turned his head away from Ryan and threw up on the floor. Ryan rolled his eyes and left the room. He was just about to take his cell phone and call Horatio when he heard a voice behind him:

"What did he say?"

Ryan turned around; it was Duke. "Nothing. And I don't think we're gonna get something out of him. This guy has a huge arachnophobia, and there's a spider crawling up his body, but he's not saying anything. I don't know what to do." It wasn't easy for him to admit that in front of his father. But why lie?

Duke rolled his eyes a bit, but then he said, "Let him go."

"Pardon me?"

"Let him go and get some patrols to follow him. He may lead you to their hiding place."

"You're kidding me. This guy will never do that."

Duke gave him a look, "I see you're out of ideas. Why don't you let anybody take over that knows how terrorists think?"

"I'm not gonna let this guy get out again. We can keep him here for assault and accessory to kidnapping at the very least."

"And what good is that? All your fancy investigation stuff has not led to anything valuable now. I want my wife back, and if something happens to her because you made the wrong decision, I'm gonna make your life a living hell, Ryan."

Ryan shook his head, "You've done that already once, what new methods could you possibly have?" And he turned around to look for his boss.

--

But his father's idea was stuck in his head. Maybe this was the last possibility they had. Maybe that guy would lead them somewhere. Not the hiding place, but something else, maybe. Ryan went to see Horatio and told him about it. Horatio wasn't really thrilled of that idea.

"There must be something else. Have you checked with Valera and Trace?"

"Yes. But they don't have anything. Anything at all. Horatio, I don't like the idea either. But… my father knows about terrorists, and he wouldn't suggest such a thing if he didn't think it could lead somewhere."

"I understand that Mr Wolfe, but right now, he's as desperate as you are…" He looked out of the window. "Okay. We'll do it. I'm gonna have patrol all over the city following him. Top priority. Let's pray it is the right thing to do."


	14. Chapter 13

Here again, a new chapter. I hope you like it :)

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything besides Antoine Henry, Justin Wyatt and Ann Evans, as well as Ryan's family as portrayed here**

**WARNING: There's mentions of stronger violence and mutilation in this chapter as well as some swearing. **

Chapter 13

After Henry was set free and Horatio had ordered every patrol in the city to shadow him, Ryan had only one thing left to do, which was bringing Ann home. She sat in the passenger's seat in his car, staring into the great wide nothing.

Ryan watched her out of his eye corner, "I'm sorry it went wrong. And about your finger."

"It's okay. I…" She started crying silently, "I'm so scared of what they'll do to Ron now. They'll hurt him. I know that… Ryan, I want him back…" She wiped the tears away. "I… I don't know what to do, I just feel so helpless… I… I… I know I should have told him before… but I thought, I mean…. He's just… you know how he is, about his freedom and stuff, and I thought he… he wouldn't want a g-g-g-girlfriend, so I didn't tell him… and now it's maybe too late…"

Ryan pulled the car over to the side of the road and looked in his pockets until he found a hanky. He gave it to Ann, "You really do love him, don't you?"

She nodded, "More than I can tell. He's… he's such a wonderful man, and he gave me so much."

Ryan smiled a bit, "So he did to me." He laid his arm around Ann's shoulder and pulled her head to his shoulder. "We'll find him, Ann. You have to believe. Every single cop in this town is looking out for him."

She cried even more on his shoulder, "What if…?"

"Don't even think of this, Ann. He'll be alright. We still have what they want. That toxin. They're not gonna kill him as long as we have it…"

"So what? Do you think they're gonna leave him unharmed? And some things are so much worse than death…" Her voice broke when she sobbed uncontrollably.

Ryan nodded, "I know. But we just have to believe it's gonna be alright. Ron is a strong man. He can handle a bit of…" He closed his eyes, for even to him it was too terrible to think of what they could do to Ron. So he just let Ann cry until she couldn't anymore. He gave her a light smile, "You're ready to go home?"

She smiled back, "I suppose. And you look as if you could need some sleep…"

"Maybe, but I can't sleep…"

"Neither can I…. How about you come to my place? We could have a cauldron of coffee."

Now Ryan laughed, "Sure. How about I tell you some stories about Ron? So that you know whom you're going to tell about your feelings when he comes back?"

She wiped the last of her tears away, "I'd love that very much."

--

Ryan was woken up by his cell phone. He looked around, still a bit dizzy. It took him a second to remember where he was. On Ann's couch, with a pillow and a blanket. Ah right. They'd been talking till 4 a.m. and after that had decided to go to bed and try to sleep at least a few hours. He cursed a bit and answered the call.

"Wolfe?... I'm at Ann's… What? Oh no. Yeah, I'll be right over." He hung up. "Oh god dammit! How could this happen again? I knew it, I knew it would go wrong. I'm gonna need to explain this… Oh damn. Stop talking to yourself, Ryan, this doesn't make you look any saner…" He raced over to the kitchen table. Ann was still lying in bed, so he left her a note, saying he would call her as soon as he knew something. Then he left the flat in a rush.

--

It must have been the most disgusting thing he'd ever seen in his life. When he arrived at the beach, he was greeted with the largest crime scene ever in Miami. Nine dead bodies, not including the gruesome looking remains of Antoine Henry. Alexx was sitting next to the terrorist. When Ryan approached, he had to swallow. It was hard to even determine if it was Antoine Henry. His face was mutilated. But Ryan recognized the clothes he was wearing. They had to give them back to him when he had been set free. The rest of Henry was nothing but a bloody mess. He sat down next to Alexx.

"He looks like he had quite a hard time…"

"He had a hard time alright. I cannot even imagine in how much pain he was before God finally took over."

"I might have an idea about it… At least when it comes to this…" He pointed at the empty eyeholes. "That must have hurt like hell…"

"Yeah… scratched them out."

"You have an idea how he died?"

"I can't tell you for sure until after the autopsy. But my guess is they literally beat him to death. There's blood in his mouth. A broken rib might have punctured his lung. I know more once I have him on the table."

Ryan nodded and then looked around, "How about the others?"

"Gun shot wounds. At least eight of them before they could do anything. But the ninth one… Let's just say… Poor guy."

Ryan bit his lip, "At least we have some bullets now." He walked over to the first dead body. It was the one Alexx had named 'poor guy'. He indeed was. His face was mutilated. "I might repeat myself, but this must have hurt."

Alexx came to his side, "Yeah, indeed. I thought it was an urban myth."

"The Glasgow smile? No…" He had read about it. The assailant cut the edges of the victim's mouth right up to the ears, and then made it scream, so that the wound would be ripped further open. "You think he bled to death from it?"

"Possibly. Even though the wounds don't seem too deep. He surely fought not to scream too hard…"

Yeah, Ryan had figured it out too. That guy must have had one hell of composure. But there was something else about him that made Ryan suspicious. No, not about him. About him and the others. The haircut. 6mm, 3 mm. Military haircut. And four more dead bodies with the exact same haircut. Ryan had to grin. He couldn't mind his own business now, could he? He put his gloves on and started opening the man's shirt. He found what he was looking for. Dog tags. And he didn't have to check the other to know what this was about. He took the dog tags into his hand- and froze. Even through the gloves he could feel they were warm. "Alexx? Did you assistant checked the vitals of this guy?"

"I guess so, why?"

"Well, cause he's still alive…."

--

Ryan waited outside the E.R. until the doctors told him they had been able to save the man. Ryan could interview him as soon as he was conscious and ready to talk. It took him another two hours of waiting until he got the go ahead. The victim, whom he knew was called Justin Wyatt, was lying on the bed, face bandaged, looking pale, but his eyes were clear and attentive.

Ryan sat down at his bedside, "Mr Wyatt, I'm Ryan Wolfe, from the Miami Dade Crime Lab. How are you feeling?"

Wyatt muttered, "I'm sorry if I can't talk properly, but you can guess why…" Then he eyed Ryan, "Wolfe, you said? You're Duke's son…."

"It was his idea, right? That you and your friends were there?"

Wyatt nodded, "He didn't want to leave it in the hands of the cops."

"I should have guessed. Can you tell me what happened?"

"Duke called yesterday afternoon and told us what to do. I'm originally from Boston, so that's how I know him. A great man. When I moved to Miami, we still kept writing each other. So he knew where to call when he had trouble here. Of course, we immediately agreed on helping him, and followed the guy."

"How were you discovered?"

"I don't know. It happened so fast…" He swallowed. "Suddenly there were gun shots. They must have seen one of the guys… Of course, we immediately got out of our cover and fired at them, but… well, you've seen what happened. There were too many of them… I thought they'd shoot me too, but they only knocked me down. When I was conscious again… They forced me to watch what they were doing to this guy. He screamed like hell. I've never heard such screams before, and I was at some really bad places in this world. When he was dead- finally, I have to say- they turned to me. Did this thing with my face. And then they left me there…"

Ryan nodded, "I see… Did they tell you why they didn't kill you?"

"Yes… but I'm only supposed to talk to… Annie Something."

"Ann Evans?" Wyatt nodded. "Mr Wyatt, let me tell you one thing. You're going to talk to me. Not to Miss Evans." Whatever the message for Ann was, he wouldn't let her hear it before he knew what it was about. The way she'd cried for Ron had deeply moved him. And he wouldn't put this on her.

Wyatt shrugged, "Well, if you want it. The guy told me to tell Miss Evans that if they wouldn't get what they want, they would do to her partner what they did to the guy, and to the woman what they did to me…. I… I understand the woman must be your mother?"

"Yes… Okay, let me ask you: Is there anything you remember about those guys?"

Wyatt shook his head, "No. Only that their leader spoke with a French accent, and he smelled of Vanilla."

"Nice… I'm going to take your clothes to the lab. Maybe there's transfer. Is there anyone I could call for you, family or so?"

Now Wyatt smiled a bit, "Would you want your family to see you like this?" The pain on his face was obvious.

Ryan smiled back, "No, probably not." He got up from the chair. "I thank you for your cooperation. I'm really sorry for what you've been gone through…"

"I'm happy it was me who had to suffer, not my men."

"That's honourable. Good bye." Ryan opened the door, got out of the room- and bumped into Duke. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard what happened. Where is Justin?"

"He's in there. But I gotta tell you, it's not a pretty sight…"

"I've seen worse. What happened?"

Ryan pondered if he should tell his father the whole truth, or just the necessary facts. He decided to do the truth. "One of your guys was discovered by the terrorists. Eight men are dead. Justin survived, but… well, he brought a message. They threat to kill Ron and… well, once you see Justin, you can imagine what mom will look like if they don't get that toxin…"

Duke looked at him and then glanced through the window at Justin. "The Glasgow smile." He leaned against the wall and slid down on the floor. He rested his face on his hands. "And one off my guys fucked it up?"

Ryan looked down at his father and said, "Justin didn't know for sure… He said 'one of the guys'… I figured he didn't mean one of my guys."

Duke nodded a bit, "That was not what I wanted. That was not at all what I planned. And now, if they hurt my wife, it's my fault." He slammed his fist against the floor.

Ryan had to swallow. "Hey… it's… it's gonna be alright. We still have the toxin. I mean, what they think is the toxin. I'm gonna talk to Ann… she'll do it. And this time, we won't risk a thing."

"You mean I'm not going to ruin everything? Come on, just tell me what you think. I know you don't have a high opinion of the military."

"That's not true. I do think highly of them. It's just not what I wanted for myself. I'm happy as it is. And I know from experience things can go wrong. I've screwed up things a few times. It's was just a bad coincidence. It could have happen to anybody of us."

"Yeah, but if I hadn't called my people, it probably would not have happened. Who knows if they actually planned on killing Henry? Maybe they saw my guy and thought Henry was involved with them, had run over to the police to save his ass."

Ryan had to admit Duke made a point. But seeing his father down like this, beating himself up… it hurt him more then when his father was beating him up. Ok, he might have been right, and the whole thing had gone bad because of his guy fucking it up. But…

"It's gonna be okay, Sir. We're gonna get them back. Trust me. They'll be back with us very soon."

"And what if not? Then it's my fault my wife has to… to life with that scar. I don't wanna be guilty for any more traumatic experience than I am already…"

"Sir, that's really…"

"How am I gonna explain to Justin's wife? How am I gonna explain to Justin? Do you think he's getting over this?"

Ryan almost had to laugh. And here he had thought his father felt guilty for the 'traumatic experiences' Ryan had to live with. But of course, no. He nodded, "You're gonna find a way…. Listen I have to bring Justin's clothes over to the lab for processing. You might wanna… get in there. He sure needs some company right now…"

"I'll do. Good luck." Duke turned around and opened the door. Ryan watched him through the window as he walked over to the bed. He sat down on it, opened his arms and hugged Justin. A bitter smile appeared on Ryan's face. He knew how silly it was, but right now, he would have given anything to be in Justin's place right now. Never mind the scars.


	15. Chapter 14

Okay, guys, here's my new chapter... I'm a bit concerned if you still like the story, coz I haven't got many reviews for the last chapters, but since there's still an awful lot of silent people reading it, I just continue... :) Anyways, there you go

Disclaimer: I don't own Ryan or his team, or anything you recognize...

Chapter 14

Ryan got back to HQ and immediately brought Wyatt's clothes to Trace lab, hoping they'd get something valuable from them. Then he went to see Alexx at the morgue. She was working on one of the dead patrols when he entered.

"This guy is father to a six week old baby," she said. "How do you tell a mother she has to raise her baby all alone…"

"I have no idea…" Ryan answered. "But I'm gonna tell her, so I'll let you know…"

Alexx watched him, "You look horrible, Ryan. Was it hard? The interview with that man?"

Ryan shrugged, "No, not really. He's doing fine. All that honourable soldier, going 'yeah, better me than my fellow soldiers'. You know, one of those people a father can love…"

Alexx covered the body of the patrol and turned to Ryan, "You wanna talk?"

"Not really. I gotta concentrate on that case. No time for whining or complaining…"

But Alexx shook her head, "Ryan. It's a hard time for you. Your uncle and mother have been kidnapped. You father is here and has been treating you like a piece of crap. And you have been confronted with some really gruesome bodies today. Now, that's a lot to handle for one man. And, you do look as if you haven't slept properly in days. And I not even gonna ask when you had something to eat the last time. You're a strong kid, Ryan. But you cannot go through this alone. You need help, or you gonna break down at some point very soon."

Ryan sighed. Throughout the years, Alexx had become sort of a second mother to him, And if there was anyone on this team he would even consider opening up to, it was her. But he couldn't. "I'm okay, Alexx. I can handle it."

Alexx gave him a bitter smile, "He really beat that into you, didn't he? To handle your problems alone."

"And even more…" He swallowed. "You know he hugged that Justin guy? In the hospital? He never hugged me. All I got was nothing. All whole lot of nothing. He's worried about how Justin is gonna live with those scars and get over this trauma. But how I'm living with my scars, how I'm living with my trauma doesn't matter to him. And he worries about my mother, because those guys have threatened to do the same to her than what they did to Justin. I worry too, but he doesn't see it. When my mother is back, she's gonna have a partner that cares for her, that will love her no matter what she looks like, who'll give her strength and has her back. If Ron doesn't come back, I'm gonna have no one who helps me coping with my stuff, because they took the only person that ever cared for me away from me. So, yes, he taught me to handle my problems alone, and this is what I'm gonna do. I don't need any looks from you all, going 'Oh, poor Ryan, now he's all alone in the world, we absolutely need to pity him'. I don't need that pity, and I don't need anybody to tell me how to handle that situation, because no one knows what it is like when a father loves some random soldier more than his own son."

He turned around to leave the morgue, but Alexx grabbed his arm, "Oh no, Ryan, you're not gonna walk away like this. You think we only care for you out of pity? You're mistaken. We care for you because you're a friend. And to me, you're as good as family. I'm really sorry that you think we only pity you. We don't. We're worried as much as you. You know Calleigh and Horatio have been assigning people from night shift to take care of the other cases so that we can all work on this case? You know Valera has been working DNA and trace on this case and therefore pulling triple shifts? You know that Eric has not been home this night because he's been going over the evidence we have over and over again? You know that Natalia and Tripp are sitting in a car in front of Ann's flat 24/7 to see if anything unusual happens? And Horatio is trying his best to keep the media off that case while dealing with the authorities so that we can keep that case. You're not alone, Ryan. And if this goes wrong, and you really lose your uncle, we are there." She smiled a bit. "You're one of us, Ryan."

Ryan nodded, "That's sweet of you. But in the end… it's just me. I'm gonna go and see what they have in trace…"

--

When he got to Trace lab, he saw it was actually Valera working on Wyatt's clothes. He knocked on the door, "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure… Here, there's the result of the DNA on the clothes…" She handed him over a piece of paper.

"Four different donors?"

"Five actually, but I could rule Wyatt's out because he's in the military database." Valera opened a drawer and took the Z-Nose out. "So, you're dealing at least with four guys."

"I guess there are more of them… They surely haven't left a hostage alone that is known all around the dark side of the city for picking locks…" He grinned, "Funny thing actually that he cannot pick the lock of the door to the roof of his house…"

She laughed, "We all have our lovely little weaknesses. I know a guy, he's DNA expert, but cannot stand the sight of fresh blood. And let me tell you something… The smell of urine? Makes me wanna puke."

"Isn't DNA technician the wrong job for you then?" He asked while watching her going over the clothes with the Z-Nose.

"Says the OCD ridden man that investigates the messiest crime scenes around the city…" She blinked at him, but then got serious again. "Okay… The Z-Nose tells me there's traces of… let me think… Vanilla… sugar… tobacco…and wood ash…."

"Whoa, wait a second! Sugar and wood ash? You sure about that?"

"I have a degree in chemistry, Ryan. How does that fit together?"

Ryan rubbed his temples, "Wyatt told me he smelled of Vanilla. Combined with the tobacco, I'd go for a cigar. Vanilla taste. Ick to that. And the sugar and the wood ash…" He roamed through his memory, "There was this case, long time ago. The victim had traces of sugar and wood ash in her hair… It led us to the sugar mill that had burned down just before the murder…."

Valera frowned, "Sugar mill… I remember something like this…"

"Yeah, after the attack in the spa… Marisol was in it… I was at the mill…" It was where he had frozen. When this guy had pointed a shot gun on him, and he had just frozen. He and Horatio had told Stetler he hadn't had the shot, but he had just frozen. And to this day, he didn't know why. "I gotta call H."

"You think they're there?" Valera asked.

Ryan sighed, I don't know. But it's at least a place to start." He took his cell out, but then turned back to Valera, "Alexx told me you've been pulling triple shifts for this case. Is that true?"

Valera nodded, "Yeah. Just went home for an hour to take shower and get some fresh clothes…" She smiled, "You maybe can put in a good word for me to make Horatio pay my overtimes…"

Ryan smiled back. "I'll do. Thanks very much, Maxine…"

"You're welcome… Give them hell if you get them…"

Ryan dialled H.'s number and only answered, "Hell hath no fury…"

---

It was a matter of half an hour until the SWAT team was ready and had arrived at the mill. Horatio, Delko, Calleigh, Frank and Ryan were there, too. Ryan felt the tension in himself rising to a point of no return. What if he had mistaken? What if they weren't here? The news of the SWAT team at the mill would be in Erika's evening show, that he knew for sure. The terrorists would hear it. And who knew what they would do to their hostages. Maybe they actually would send Ron's heart to Ann in a parcel, like they had promised. Or some other of his intestines. Maybe the liver, that should make a gruesome image… He was interrupted in his thoughts (luckily, because they actually made him a wee bit worried about his sanity…) by Delko, who gave him the sign that the SWAT team was ready for entry. Ryan took a deep breath and signalled back that he was ready as well…

-----------------

Yeah I know, evil Fergie, leaving you with a cliffy :D Please read and review :D


	16. Chapter 15

Still not many reviews, but I want to say Thank you, Spasiba, and Danke schön to you :). And because you were so nice and so encouraging, here's my new chapter. Didn't want to leave you with a cliffy for too long.... :)

**Disclaimer: I don't own nothing but the terrorists, Ann Evans, and Ryan's family, dead or alive, as portrayed here...**

Chapter 15

"Miami Dade Police!!!" Horatio yelled the same moment when the leader of the SWAT team kicked the door open. They hadn't even made proper entry when the first shots were fired at them. Ryan saw a member of the SWAT team going down right in front of him. He looked around and counted as fast as he could. Seven terrorists, but no trace of either Ron or Ryan's mother. One of the terrorists pointed a gun at Ryan, but Ryan reacted immediately this time, and his bullet hit the man right above his heart. _Damn, luckily I didn't freeze this time…_But he didn't have too much time to be happy about it, because next to him, another guy from SWAT was hit. Ryan took a shot to where he thought the fatal bullet had come from, and heard a scream. In that exact moment he felt a fist collide with his face and heard Delko shouting, "Hey Wolfe, watch out!" Ryan landed hard on the ground, looking at the business end of the gun the man who'd knocked him down was pointing at him, but before he could shoot, he was hit in the chest by the bullets Delko and Frank had fired at him. And suddenly, there was silence…

Ryan got back on his feet, "Are they dead?"

Delko helped him, "Yeah, gone for good. All of them, three of us. You're alright?"

Ryan touched his cheekbone. It hurt and was swollen, but luckily it didn't impair his vision. "Yeah, I'm okay."

Delko nodded, "Good… Let's go and find the rest of the Wolfe pack…" He blinked at Ryan and walked over to Horatio.

Ryan smiled, but suddenly, a shot echoed. His left shoulder exploded in pain and he went to his knees. He pressed his hand on his shoulder and looked at it. Blood… But the scream he heard then made him freeze…

"RYAN!!!"

He raised his head, "Mom?"

Yes, there she was. Doreen Wolfe. Unharmed, but with a gun pointed at her face. The man who had the gun in his hand held her in front of his body to shield himself. He pressed the gun at her temple and shouted, "Okay, you drop those guns, or the lady will die…" Ryan couldn't see what the others were doing, but from the sound he heard, he knew they literally had dropped their guns to the floor. "Okay, good. Now, I don't want to 'urt anybody. So you better do what I want. You, red 'ead. I want the keys for your 'ummer." Horatio took his car keys out of the pocket, dropped them to the floor and gave them a kick so that they landed at the terrorist's feet. He bowed down, not letting go of Doreen, and motioned her to pick them up. She did, but her eyes were glued on Ryan who had his hand pressed on his shoulder wound. The terrorist waited until she had the keys in her hand and said, "Okay. Now, I'm going out that door. I'm gonna take the lady with me. If I see anyone of your lot following me, I'm going to shoot 'er and throw 'er out of the car. 'ave you understood?"

Ryan heard Horatio asking, "Where is your second hostage?"

"You gonna find 'is body in the backyard…"

Body? Ryan felt his whole body go numb. Ron was dead? No, please not…

But Horatio kept cool, "When are we gonna get the hostage back?"

"As soon as I am out of your country. I'm going to let 'er out when I am far away. She can call you then…"

_He's… lying…_Ryan thought. _He won't let her... out… _But the blood loss was starting to take its toll on him…

"Now, I'm going… I repeat, don't follow me if you want 'er back…" He pointed his gun at Doreen and motioned her to walk to the door. Ryan watched his mother slowly being out of his reach again. _No, this can't be true. Not now. I was so close… He's going to kill her… I lost Ron already, I'm not going to lose her…_But he knew he was powerless. This man had his mother, and he didn't even have a… gun…. _Where's my gun?_ He knew he had it in his hand right before he was hit in the shoulder… and he hadn't kicked it away at any point… He looked around… There it was, right next to his knee… His fingertips touched the cold metal…

And then everything went fast. The terrorist started running to the exit, pulling Doreen with him. But Doreen tripped over the body of the dead SWAT team member and fell to the floor. The terrorist stopped, pondering over whether he should run back and pull her with him again, but decided against it. The cops were all too far away from their guns, and he would be in the car long before they would follow him… After all… they would first have to look after the dying woman… He aimed at Doreen's head and said "Adieu…" (1) A shot… And the terrorist fell down to his knees, blood splattering the wall behind him from his head wound. He was dead before he hit the floor. Delko and Horatio, who had already been ready to reach for their own guns to stop the guy from shooting Doreen, froze in action and turned to where the shot had come from. Ryan sat there, on his knees, gun in his right hand, the arm with the uninjured shoulder. He was pale, but the gun was rocksteady in his hands.

Delko frowned, "Talking about adrenaline…" He walked over to the terrorist and checked his vitals. "Dead as can be…"

"My… my uncle…" Ryan dropped the gun; everything was getting blurry. He heard his mother scream and Horatio calling for an ambulance, he felt Delko rushing to his side, trying to steady him… "Where's my uncle…"

"We're gonna look after him. He's gonna be in good hands…" Delko whispered. "Now, calm down. Ambulance is on its way…"

Ryan laughed a bit, "Maybe I would be there fast... faster… if you drove me again…" And then blackness took over him.

----------------

**I know, I know, It was short. But I mean, when you involve a SWAT team, it's always kinda fast. Hope you enjoyed it nevertheless. Let me know. Please. :)**

**(1) French for: Good bye...  
**


	17. Chapter 16

AN: Wow, guys, thanks SO MUCH for all your lovely reviews, they meant just so much for me. I'm so glad you like this story... This is why I'm being nice and upload a new chapter. So, here it is...

**Disclaimer: I only own Ann Evans, and Ryan's family as portrayed here.**

Chapter 16

The light… it hurt… _God damn it, can somebody turn the lights off? _Ryan tried to shield himself from the light, but when he tried to raise his arm to put his hand over his eyes, he felt his left arm hurting like hell. And suddenly, everything came back to him… The sugar mill, the shot to his shoulder, his mother, the terrorist he had killed, Ron… _Ron…_ He was dead… _Ron…_ Ryan tried to prop himself into a sitting position when he heard a loud moan. Alexx. She sat at his bedside, rubbing her eyes. Apparently, she had been asleep and the movement of Ryan's legs had woken her up.

Now she smiled at him, rubbing his knee, "Welcome back, Ryan."

"Was I gone?"

Alexx sighed, "You scared the hell out of us, Ryan. We rushed you to hospital, and let me tell you, Delko said next time he's going to drive again, and here they told us they were out of your blood type. Luckily, Cal was there."

"Only Cal? So what, my own father doesn't want to give his blood to me?" Ryan knew Duke and him had the same blood type. 0 negative. Calleigh was 0 negative too. When Delko had been shot in the head, they both had gone to hospital to donate blood for him, since they were universal donors.

But Alexx shook her head, "Don't think like this. You and Ron were brought here at the same time…"

"Ron?"

"Yeah, Ron. And when they said…"

"Whoa, wait a second…" Ryan forgot the pain in his shoulder. "Ron? Is he alive?"

Alexx looked surprised, "Didn't you know?"

"No… I thought he was… the terrorist said something about ' 'is body', so I thought he meant… well, body as in DB…"

"Oh, baby, he was probably just taunting you all… Your uncle is alive. Roughed up, but alive. Already hit on some of the nurses, going all super hero…" She grinned, "First thing when he woke up was to ask how you were, though…"

"How is he?"

"As I said, pretty roughed up. They shot his leg; this is why he lost a huge amount of blood too. Apparently he wanted to stop that guy you shot from running away with your mother. Anyways. When you both arrived here, your father was really a mess, because both of you needed blood, both of you 0 negative, and he was really not sure whom to give his too… But when Calleigh said she had your blood group… he decided to donate for Ron, then… But believe me, he would have given his to you, too. To both of you, if it had been necessary…"

"So, Ron's gonna make it?"

Alexx took his hand into hers, "He will, Ryan. And your mother will too. You saved both their lives…"

Ryan leaned back onto his pillow and closed his eyes. He felt as if a ton's weight had been taken away from his heart. Ron was alive. His mother was alive. The nightmare was over… "When can I see him?"

Alexx rolled her eyes, "You know that was actually the first thing he asked the nurse, too? First answer me one question: How are you feeling right now?"

Ryan thought a bit, "Well, my shoulder hurts… But for the rest… I can walk, you know?"

Alexx frowned, "Still, you should rest a bit. You haven't eaten in days, the doctor said. And you've lost a lot of blood. Go back to sleep, and the next time you wake up, you prolly can go see him, how about that?"

"How about I just go now?"

Alexx gave him a look that didn't allow any disobedience, "You won't. You will sleep, and if I have to tie you to that bed, I'll do. You'll sleep, wake up, you'll eat something and then, and only then, I let you see Ron. So, are you gonna be a nice boy, or do I have to get some handcuffs from one of the guys?"

Ryan sighed, "No, its okay, I'll be a nice boy…"

------

The next day, after Ryan had slept for what felt like a week and eaten what felt like an entire cow plus a pig in every possible variation, Alexx finally allowed him to go see his uncle. It took him a long time to get dressed, with his shoulder hurting with every move, but he didn't want to show up in front of Ron only dressed in a bathing robe. So when he finally had managed to pull on some trousers and a shirt (he didn't know where Delko, who had visited him the day before, had gotten them from, but he suspected somebody had explained to his partner how to pick the lock to his flat), he walked over to Ron's room. He already heard the music when he stood in front of the door, going _'speaking words, of wisdom, let it beeee….. and in my hour of darkness, she is standing right in front of me…'_. (1) Ryan had to grin. Of course. He might have been just out of a really bad kidnapping, but that didn't stop Ron from asking the first person he saw, which Ryan guessed had been Ann, to bring his guitar along. He knocked on the door. The music stopped and he heard a loud, "Get in!"

He opened the door and popped his head in, "Hey, Ron… Mind if I come in?"

Ron put his guitar away, "Ah, the hero of the day. Sure, get in."

Ryan entered and walked over to Ron's bed, "You look like hell." Ron had scratches and bruises all over his face and arms, his lips were split, his right leg was bandaged.

But Ron smiled nevertheless, "Yeah, just like back in the old days when I was young and running the streets, trying to impress the ladies. But let me tell you one thing: right now, you wouldn't win a model contest either with that eye. Where d'you get that from?"

"I was trying to save your butt, and some of them guys tried to knock me down…" Ryan sat down on a chair next to the bed. "I'm so glad you're back…"

Ron nodded, "Me too, kid. Me too. Thanks for saving my butt then…"

Ryan grinned, "Anytime… how are you doing? You're alright?"

"Well, my leg does hurt like hell, and my face looks like I've accidently run into a meat chopper, but it could be worse. At least, I'm alive. Amen I. How bout you? Doreen told me you got shot?"

"Yeah. But it's okay. Just the shoulder."

Ron sighed, "Damn, I'm just happy this is over. You know, at some point I thought I'd never get back again… And when they brought Doreen in… God damn it…" He took a closer look at Ryan, "And from what I understood, she didn't come to Miami all alone…. Exactly, how did they end up here?"

"We found the… the belt… when we searched your flat for evidence. How did you get that, by the way?"

"I went to see your father the night I arrived in Boston. You were asleep in our hotel, and I thought I'd just go and kick his ass for doing this to you. We had a real huge fight. And I thought I just take that belt with me, in case you… we would need it at some point in the future."

"Yeah, well I saw it there, and since I didn't know how it'd end up there, I had to tell the team, and so they brought my dad in for questioning… I didn't know you and my mother were talking about me on a weekly basis."

Now Ron smiled a bit, "She told me not to tell you… in case it would make separation from them harder for you. But she always called, she always asked how you were doing and stuff… She missed you, Ryan."

"I missed her too…"

"How about your father? Did he… say something?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know…"

Ryan shrugged, "The usual stuff… Why do you ask?"

"Just in case you want me to get rid of him."

Now, Ryan had to laugh, "Haven't you been in trouble enough already?"

"Can't get enough of it, son." Ron leaned back and looked up to the ceiling. "Ehm… what I wanted to ask… Ann… how was she doing? She sat here when I woke up, and I could tell she… she looked really bad, you know."

"Just… how can a guy like you, you know, with your experience with women, not check what's going on with that girl?"

Ron frowned, "I'm much too old for her… and come on, would you want a guy like me?"

"Well, I always quite liked being with you." Ryan got up from his chair. "I gotta go back, I have Alexx sitting in my room and she's gonna bite both our heads off if I don't rest enough…"

"We wouldn't want that. I come see you once the give me crutches…"

"Cool…" Ryan walked to the door, but he turned around one last time, "You know, Ron… Ann is a great girl. She really risked everything to get you back. Even being shot at the drop off. She broke into that house. She was crying at my shoulder because she was so afraid to loose you. I think you… you should maybe think of settle down."

"I might think about it…" Ryan grinned and was just about to leave the room when Ron said, "Wait a sec. Come back…"

Ryan frowned and walked back to his uncle's bed. He hadn't even had the time to properly sit down again when Ron hugged him, careful not to touch his injured shoulder. "Thank you, Ryan. Thank you so much for saving my life. I was so frightened, but when I heard you at the drop off, I knew everything would be fine. I would have gone mad there if I hadn't known you knew what was going on. You're one hell of a cop. Thank you…"

Ryan hugged him back, feeling tears coming to his eyes, "God damn it, Ron, you scared the hell out of me… I was so… I wouldn't know what I've done if I'd lost you. I'd prolly would have killed them one by one… I'm so glad you're back…" He wiped the tears away before Ron could see them. Then he got up. "I should really go now… And… think about this thing with Ann… You would make a fine couple…."

"The 09 Bonnie and Clyde…" (2) Ron grinned.

Ryan grinned back and left the room. He knew his uncle well enough to know he was having sort of feelings for Ann, or else he wouldn't have asked how she was doing. And Ron deserved to have a real partner after all those years… God knew how many potential long term relationships Ron had given up because of him… He knew from one girl whom his uncle had really loved that she didn't want to stay with him because he had Ryan. But he had not once let Ryan think he was a burden to him. When Ryan walked back to his room, he really had to fight tears. Now, everything came down on him. Everything he had somehow blocked out during those last days hit him with the power of a rocket launcher. God, just how close had he really been to losing the one man that had made the life he was living now even possible? Without Ron, he would have… he didn't even know. Either ended up on the street or in the army. He didn't know if he had had the courage to stand up to his father if he hadn't known Ron had his back. Okay, he was old enough now to fight his battles alone. He had as well the physical as the mental strength to fight. But he still needed Ron. When he had lost his job, he had been ashamed, he had beaten himself up over it, and he had turned to Ron because he hadn't known what to do anymore. And Ron had helped him, he had given him his self confidence back, just like he had done so many years ago, when Ryan had been sitting at the airport, in his blood stained shirt, and people had looked at him. When he had been so broken, so really shattered into fragments that he thought he could never recover… Ryan took a deep breath, but he still felt just how close to tears he was. Good lord, if he could at least make it to some toilet before he totally lost control and started crying like a baby… But in that moment a door opened. The door, as Ryan found out one split second later, had to be the door to his mother's room, or why else would Duke get out of it?

---

(1)The Beatles – Let it be

(2) Allusion to Jay-Z and Beyonce Knowles – 03 Bonnie and Clyde

----

C'mon guys, I could never kill off Ron, I like him too much :D


	18. Chapter 17

Okay, guys, here u have it. Thanks for all your kind reviews. This is the last regular chapter, but there is gonna be an epilogue to it. I hope you like the outcome of the story. Please let me know.

**Disclaimer: I own Ann, and the family as you see it here. The wonderful Ryan Wolfe belongs to CBS.**

Chapter 17

Duke looked at Ryan, Ryan looked back. Inside, he cursed. Just why did his father had to come out of this stupid room the exact same moment when Ryan was close to crying for the first time in twelve years. Oh, what the heck. Ryan didn't care anymore. He just said, "How's she doing?"

Duke answered, "She's shaken, but she'll be alright. For now, she's sleeping."

"Good. I'll come see her later." Ryan said and turned away to walk into his room when Duke suddenly asked:

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

But Ryan shook his head, "I don't think there's anything left to talk about. You wanna talk, you go see Justin. I'm sure you two can spend hours and hours talking and hugging…."

He was still hurt by what he had seen… two days ago? He didn't know for sure how long he had been out. But anyways, he hadn't forgotten that moment when his father had hugged this guy, all worried about how he would get over this trauma, while he had nothing but scorn for his own son. But… while Ryan had never, not once in his life, experienced a true father-son hug, deep inside he felt it couldn't be much different from the hug Ron had given him earlier. Actually, during those last twelve hears, even Ron hadn't hugged him that much. But Ryan knew it wasn't because Ron didn't care for him, or tried to make him a hard man. It was mainly because Ryan had, after having been thrown out, for a long time shied away from any body contact with other people. After therapy, it had become alright again, but Ron still respected his boundaries. But if Ryan ever needed a hug, Ron would be there. That much Ryan knew. So, actually… should Duke just go and hug that guy again. Ryan didn't care too much.

He proceeded to walk back to his room when Duke said, "Thank you for saving my wife's life."

Ryan didn't turn around, but only said, "Well, she is my mother. And sacrifice my life for saving someone else's is my job."

"How's your shoulder?"

"Why would you care?"

Duke sighed, "You know, I'm trying to talk to you, here."

"I noticed that. Can I go now?" He walked away, but then he heard Duke say:

"I know I was wrong about you. Your mother told me what happened in the sugar mill. That you shot the guy although you were almost unconscious from the blood loss. And that it was one hell of a good shot, even with your right hand. Not bad, I gotta admit."

"Was that it?" Ryan didn't want compliments. At least not that sort. He knew it could have gone wrong. If he had missed the shot, his mother would have died. And he too. It had been pure luck. Not more.

"No… I… I want to apologize. For putting you down earlier this week. I know now that you are a good criminalist, and a good cop. I should have trusted in you more. I'm sorry."

Now, Ryan turned around, "Thank you. Anything more?"

"Like what?"

"Well if you don't know…" He should probably stop waiting for his father to apologize for his childhood; it would never happen. "Can I go now?"

"What do you want?"

"Well, if you don't know…"

"You want to hear that I'm sorry for throwing you out? For putting you in your place?"

"Not if it is a lie." Ryan leaned against the wall giving his father a look. "But if you do mean it, then yes, this is what I want. Or at least an explanation. And I think I deserve to know why all that happened. Why you treated me like crap. And don't come at me with this 'I wanted to make a man out of you' talk."

"Okay. I'm not sorry for what has happened back then. You deserved it. You're my son, and you owe me obedience, and I think I've told you that often enough. Now for the explanation. I wanted to make you strong. When I was your age, I mean, the age you had back then, my dad was doing the same to me. Worse actually. He had two sons that he wanted in the army. But when your uncle refused, he treated me even harder to make sure at least I would follow his footsteps. It didn't hurt me. It taught me a lot. And I just wanted to make you as strong as my father made me. And now, I see that I've reached that goal."

Ryan almost laughed, "No, you didn't. What you see here, was all Ron. Not you. You watch the scars on my back, this was what you did. Nothing more."

"You have never seen my back, Ryan. Because let me tell you one thing; I was always careful not to leave any marks on you. My father wasn't. He was cruel. I was being strict. Until that day. I admit, I might have been too hard on you. But…" He sighed, "I really just wanted what I thought was best for you. You were my son, Ryan. I wanted you to be strong enough to face the world."

"I was your son…" Ryan had to swallow. "So, not even saving your wife's, my mother's life, and the life of your brother makes you want to accept me as your son again?" Duke didn't say anything. "Well, okay. I won't beg. You won't see me on my knees before you ever again. Good bye."

He walked over to his room. Luckily Alexx was gone, because he wouldn't have been able to stand anybody around him right now while trying to handle the pain inside him. What had he actually hoped for? He shook his head. Well, at least he had made his point clear, too. There would never be anything more between him and his father than… well… at least mutual respect. And if he was honest, it was more than he actually had expected. But less than he'd hoped for. He sighed and started undressing. A warm shower would do him good. Or maybe a cold shower…

---

When he got out of the shower, only dressed in boxers, he almost got a shock. Duke was sitting there, on the chair next to Ryan's bed. When he heard the door of the shower opened, he raised his head.

"I have something more to say, Ryan."

"Would you mind if I get dressed first? This isn't really comfortable."

"Sure."

Ryan just grabbed his clothes from the bed, walked back into the shower cabin, got dressed and then got out again. "What do you want?"

Duke didn't react immediately, but said, "I didn't know I was that brutal."

Ryan sighed. So his father had seen his back, even if he had tried to cover it up with the towel. "So?" He had rarely felt so vulnerable. "Anything more? Because if not, I'd like to be alone."

"Actually…" He took a breath, "Actually, yes. I… I know things between us are a real mess. But… I want to tell you something. And I mean it. I'm proud of what has become of you. I'm proud of what you and Ron have managed. When I saw your back just now, I suddenly knew I did wrong. I tried to be better than my father, but I was still… not a good father. I might have taught you to become hard. But that real strength you got… that mental strength… that really must have been Ron. During that week now, I noticed how much soul you have. I'm glad I never broke that." He got up from the chair and walked to the door. "I really wish we could work this out a bit." He opened the door. "Take care, Ryan."

"No, wait…" Ryan swallowed. "Maybe we can…"

"You think?"

Ryan sat down on the bed. "I don't know. There's been so much trouble between us… I… I really would love to. But I can't promise anything."

Duke's smile was bitter when he said, "I really messed you up, didn't I?"

"Pretty much, yeah. But, you know, Charles Dickens once said, and I quote, "_Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but - I hope - into a better shape_." Maybe… Well, maybe you and Ron both made me what I am today. And… it's not that bad…"

Now Duke's smile change from bitter to amused, "Not bad at all, Ryan…" He sighed, "Our phone number hasn't changed. Just call when you feel ready. You have all the time in the world. And even if you never call… I want you to know I can understand that. And that I really am proud of you."

"Thanks, sir…"

"Good night." Duke left.

Ryan just watched the door, trying to handle what had just happened. Did his father just really offered him to… call? Had he really said he was sorry for everything? Had he really said he was proud? Ryan felt his entire body shaking. Okay. This was just too much for him. He switched the light off, lay down on the bed and closed his eyes. Finally, he could let his feelings take over him. The fear of the last days, the tension he had felt, the pain in his shoulder… and the little tiny hope in himself that was now revived… that he would at some point have a father, again.

------------------------------------------

So yeah. That's it. Likey? Not likey?


	19. Epilogue

This is the epilogue. Before you read this, I want to thank each and everybody of you for reviewing this piece, for putting it on your favourites and story alert list, for putting me on author alert… All these things. Then I want to thank my wonderful friend who beta read for me and helped me when I was stuck with my plot AND gave me some ideas. Thanks so much.

There you go, guys.

**Disclaimer: I only own Ann, and the family as it is shown here. The rest is property of CBS and all those wonderful guys. **

Epilogue

Two weeks later, the whole family was at the restaurant. It was Duke's and Doreen's last evening in Miami. Both had decided they would take some time off from Boston and stay in Miami longer than they had planned to, to enjoy a bit of the Miami sun. But Duke had to go back to work now. The good-bye dinner had been Ron's idea. So Duke, Doreen, Ryan, Ron and Ann had met at one of the fanciest restaurants in Miami. Ron and Ann were sitting next to each other, sharing a menu. Ryan had to grin. Actually, the moment Ron had confessed his love for Ann had been number one of the most unromantic 'I love you' situations ever. When she had helped him pulling his socks on when he had left hospital. But well, Ann was used to it. After all, having spent so much time with Ron, she knew he was a little weirdo. But the smile on both their faces indicated that they were very happy.

"Ryan, you know what you're gonna eat?" Doreen asked. "You could use a little bit of vitamins, you still look a bit pale…"

Ryan grinned, "I'm alright, Ma'am…"

"Yeah, that's what you say."

Doreen Wolfe was alright again. Physically, she had recovered the fastest. She had been released from hospital the day after she'd been admitted already, only having a few bruises and a sprained wrist from the fall. But they all knew that it could have been different. Ron had on more than one occasion protected her from the terrorists when they threatened to use her for having a little fun. It was there when Ron had actually gotten most of his wounds from. Duke didn't say a thing, but Ryan knew that he and Ron had had a serious conversation, and that also between them, things were going better. Slowly, but they were. Though Ron had a really hard time to forgive his brother too, and he wasn't too thrilled about the fact that he actually owed his life to Duke who had given him his blood.

Ryan was just about to decide between the calamari and the lobster when he heard a voice.

"Duke Wolfe? Is that really you?"

Duke raised his head, smiled and got up when he saw the man who had just called him. "Dmitri Danilow. Haven't seen you in ages. How are you doing?"

The man shook Duke's hand, "Just fine, just fine… How about you?"

"Alive and kicking. Wait, let me introduce you…" He turned back to his family. "This is Dmitri Danilow, an old friend of mine. Dmitri, this is my family. My wife, Doreen Wolfe, my brother Ron and his girlfriend Ann Evans, and my son Ryan."

Ryan nearly choked on his water. Son? Did Duke really just say that? He checked with Ron. Ron had his arm around Ann's shoulder and was smiling at him. Yeah… Duke had just introduced him to a complete stranger as his son... Ryan smiled when he shook the man's hand. Maybe, after all, it wouldn't be as difficult as he imagined it to be a family again. It would take him some time to forget what had happened, to forget all the pain, the fear and the humiliations his father had put him through. He would never be able to let all the walls he had built around himself down. Too much had happened. Getting over it would be hard. But he was willing to try. And if he had learned one thing in his life, which both Ron and Duke had taught him, was that, if you wanted something very much, nothing on earth could stop you. And nothing on earth would stop Ryan Wolfe.

---

So, yeah, the end of this story. I hope you liked it. As said above, I want to thank each and every one of you for reading and reviewing. It has been such a motivation. I have some ideas for new fics, so I'll probably be back soon. If you want… :) Peace and Love,


End file.
